Displaced Hero
by Captiosus
Summary: In a desperate attempt to save his life, after narrowly destroying an alien incursion, Tony Stark is forced to use untested technology... placing his body in stasis until a cure can be found. Stark wakes far into the future finding a vastly different world... one which he will change forever. Inspired by DN7's Oneshot. Movie Ironman, Femshep, Stark/Pepper (maybe)
1. Prologue and Chapter 1: 171 Years

Displaced Hero

By: Archer83 (Author), SgtGinger (Co-author, Brainstorming), Envirosuit (Co-author, Brainstorming) and Captiosus (Beta, Brainstorming, Publishing)

Inspired By: DN7

Summary: In a desperate attempt to save his life, after narrowly destroying an alien incursion, Tony Stark is forced to use untested technology... placing his body in stasis until a cure can be found. Stark wakes far into the future finding a vastly different world... one which he will change forever.

"Speech"  
_Thought  
_"_AI Speech/Radio transmission"_

Prologue (By: DN7)

May, 2012

_Everything that has a beginning has an end. -The Oracle_

Tony Stark, multi-billionaire, genius, ladies man, Iron Man, never thought that those words would ever apply to him. Especially once he figured out a way past the palladium poisoning he was getting from the mini-Arc reactor in his chest. Using an element his father had designed but couldn't produce, he was able to increase the small power device's output by several orders of magnitude. Enough, in fact, that the mini-factory in his house and JARVIS, his AI/butler, would have enough power to run continuously for several years.

Now 5 years after proclaiming that he was Iron Man, as the papers dubbed the armored hero, he realized just how foolish he had been. He had fought several 'villains', if a person could call them that, but always outsmarted them, using the flaws in their tech, plus the flaws in their plans against them. In his tenure as an adviser for SHIELD, he had fought several other nasty things, but always came out ahead. He never had to see so many people who were counting on Iron Man to save them... mercilessly slaughtered.

He always came back to her... Now he would never be able to see her beautiful red hair or gorgeous green eyes, all because he thought his tech was perfect. The deadly nano-bots that were now swarming inside his body were shutting down every major organ and were impervious to any form of electromagnetic interference, including EMP. Thankfully, Tony was close to a SHIELD base, and JARVIS had them prepare the only other solution to the problem...

Let the nano-bots run themselves dry through putting himself in a recently discovered alien cryo-stasis tube, where he would remain frozen. The nano-bots, being without power provided by the body itself, would have to use their own resources to try and accomplish their goal, but with Tony's organs 'frozen' they could do no more damage. The only problem was that JARVIS didn't know how long the nano-bots could function without Stark's body to sustain them.

_Damned if you do, damned if you don't..._

As Tony took apart the Mk. VI armor that had served him so well in the past years, he realized that he would effectively disappear. "JARVIS, make sure Pepper knows whats happening..."

"_Of course sir... I will be here for you when you wake up sir."_ The AI's voice resounded throughout the helmet before he removed it. Tony handed it to the SHIELD agent next to him who put it in a safe that was across from the cryo tube.

_The only thing left to do now is to throw all I know and love away, and hope some alien technology that we don't understand will save my life._

"JARVIS... Execute order 198247-Alpha..."

"_Sir?"_

"You are to upload your personality files to this base, destroying your backups along with anything related to the Iron Man armor, and the Arc reactor. Be sure to keep Stark Industries going, within the parameters I've given to you in file #83209375-Beta." Tony said to a small micro receiver in his watch as he stepped inside the cryo-tube.

"_Anything else sir?"_

"Yeah... Be sure to have a cheeseburger waiting for me when I wake up."

"_Of course sir, wouldn't want you to starve as soon as your thawed out."_

"Thanks JARVIS... Be sure to tell Pepper to not wait for me... and that I love her."

"_As you wish sir..."_ That was the last thing he heard as the SHIELD agent activated the cryo-tube's controls, sending the great Tony Stark into a dreamless sleep.

-Displaced Hero-

Chapter 1

August, 2183

The world snapped back into focus with frightening speed. Tony hadn't known what to expect when... if... he ever opened his eyes again. After 'sleeping' for what he figured must have been years, possibly decades, it was rather anticlimactic. His senses hyper alert, Stark gasped for his first breath of air in a very, very long time, as he slowly pulled himself out of the open cryo-tube.

The spartan SHIELD base he had been, for all intents and purposes, 'stored', was completely different from the area in which he found himself waking. Now, Tony seemed to be in some type of futuristic lab. Stark found it mildly disconcerting, but wasn't too surprised that JARVIS or SHIELD might have been forced to move him during the intervening years. The next obvious difference, which _did _bother Tony,was the man patiently watching him, with a glass of whiskey in hand. Stark also took notice of the fact that the man was standing, more or less, where Tony had been expecting the safe containing his Mark VI armor to be.

_Mr. Bourbon obviously does his homework. Nice touch... he knew exactly where I'd look first... And what the hell is wrong with his eyes? Creepy._

After a few moments the man spoke, "It's good to see you back in the land of the living, Mr. Stark."

"Yeah... awesome. I'm going to take a wild guess here that you're responsible for..." Tony did a double take when he saw what was on a small table near by, sitting next to an ashtray holding a still smoldering cigarette. "...is that a cheeseburger?"

"JARVIS was kind enough to inform me about your desire to have one when you were finally awakened." As the man motioned to the plate with his free hand, alarms started shrieking in Stark's mind. "Here, be my guest. JARVIS, feel free to say hello to your old friend..."

_Okay. Don't show any concern... he's making a big deal out of the fact he apparently has control of JARVIS... and me._

He couldn't put his finger on it as to why, but the man casually standing in front of him strongly reminded Tony of Obadiah Stane. Stark knew to go with his gut instinct, trusting Obadiah had been one particularly massive mistake, of many, that Tony wasn't going to be repeating any time soon.

"_Welcome back, sir. I'm relieved to see you well again. Though, I feel the need to apologize for the... odd circumstances of your revival, sir."_

Stark just stared at his 'host', and told the room in general, "No problem, JARVIS... good to hear you."

"Why JARVIS, I would call your former employer being successfully revived a rather happy circumstance, myself. Oh... how rude of me..." Stark still couldn't get the man's intensely bright blue eyes out of his mind, as he continued, "...call me... Jack, Mr. Stark."As 'Jack' finished and held out his hand Tony continued to stare at him, not bothering to shake the his hand, or reach for the offered burger for that matter.

"Yeah... sure thing Ole' Blue Eyes, I'm sure you'll forgive me for not shaking... not a big fan of touching. Gonna say no on the burger too..."

Tony didn't miss the slight frown that briefly shown Jack's face, before a wry grin quickly replaced it. The anger that Stark had seen flash in his bizarre eyes at the nickname, was all Tony needed to know about him. This man was dangerous. Worse yet, he seemed to be holding all the cards at the moment.

"JARVIS... what the hell is going on here?"

JARVIS was slow to respond, as if trying desperately to sugar-coat his answer. _"Sir... I'm afraid that... the time needed to safely revive you-"_

"What your old assistant is apparently hesitant to tell you is actually very simple, if rather unfortunate for you." Stark didn't miss how Jack's grin seemed to deepen.

_Ah shit. This is not going to be pleasant news... Might as well get it over with._

Stark sighed internally, and asked the question he knew was going to change the rest of his life.

"How long?"

"Roughly 171 years Stark... I'm sure that may come as a bit of a shock-."

Tony had stopped listening by that point. 171 years. Tony knew that JARVIS had no way of knowing how long it would take for the nano-bots to finally run themselves down, but more than a century and a half?

_Okay... not as bad as it could have been... it's not like I woke up in the year 3000... with my head in a jar. Now THAT would've really sucked. _

"-be sure that we will offer any assistance you'll need to acclimate to the present... Stark?" Tony focused his attention back onto what Jack was saying when he realized the man had gone silent.

"I'm guessing this _assistance _isn't going to come cheap?"

Jack set down his drink and gracefully snatched up the cigarette next to it. After taking a short drag he answered, "You were... well are, a notoriously brilliant man Stark." He motioned toward the still active Arc reactor, which glowed brightly under Tony's Black Sabbath t-shirt. "That amazing device alone shows just how unparallelled you are Stark, it's good to see that it actually does exist."

_So JARVIS was able to destroy my designs and prototypes after all. If I'm not careful... this one is going to get ripped out of my chest too. I wouldn't put it past Creepy._

"I, and the organization I represent, would be highly interested in employing you to work on some of our more... grandiose projects. In exchange, I'm willing to give you excellent pay, even by your standards, along with access to bleeding-edge modern technology, and most importantly... information on today's world that you couldn't just find in any database," Jack finished with that predatory smile.

"Sounds like an offer I can't refuse... Oh wait, I _can_. I'm sure Stark Industries managed to keep afloat... right JARVIS?"

JARVIS didn't bother to hesitate this time. _"I'm afraid there's more bad news, sir. A large aerospace firm, __Corde-Hislop Orbital, purchased full control of Stark Industries in 2117. Said firm, along with several others, is now owned by billionaire industrialist J. P. Harper__"_

Internally, Stark could barely contain the indignation and pure rage he felt at hearing this, but on the outside he simply smirked and said, "The J stands for Jack, doesn't it?"

_"Correct, sir."_

Jack almost managed to sound humble, as he told Tony, "Look at it this way Stark, you help me, and you can be right back at the top of the engineering and industrial world, in almost no time at all."

"Gee, this is all starting to seem so _familiar, _minus the good pay and the info your so generously offering me."

Jack's frown returned, and stayed in place this time. "If your referring to your hostage experience in Afghanistan... let me assure you, I have no intentions of forcing _you_ to stay here. After you've learned a bit about this brave new world you've stepped into, and had a chance to think over my employment offer, you'll be free to go."

"Sounds just a little too good... wait... what about JARVIS?" Stark asked.

"I'm afraid JARVIS is a different matter entirely Stark. It's become rather useful to me, it'd be hard to part with such a high quality piece of software. Although... if you agreed to a short term contract, say three months, I might be persuaded to add JARVIS as a bonus at the end." That irritating smile reappeared on Harper's face.

"_Sir, I highly suggest that you leave as soon as possible. You need not... _indenture_ yourself to this man, not on my account."_

_Sounds like JARVIS likes this prick about as much as I do. Damn it._

"Huh... Only three months, what the hell, I'll do it."

Jack's small grin widened as he responded, "I'm very glad to hear that Mr. Stark. I'm sure you'll find your time here very... enlightening."

"Well, the whole _you-owning-my-company_ thing didn't leave me to much to bargain with. You'd better be a man of your word."

"No need to worry Stark, I think you'll find me a very trustworthy person... in time." Jack snuffed out his cigarette in the nearby ashtray, and grabbing his glass continued, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other more important matters to attend to. JARVIS should be more than able to show you around the lab and this base."

As Stark watched him exit the room, Tony wished he had just one repulsor right now.

"_I hate that guy."_

"I feeling is mutual buddy..." _Wait, what? _"...what did you just say JARVIS?"

"_I said that I absolutely hate that man Tony. Oh and by the way... you are a complete moron. You have to get away from here as soon as you can." _The AI's voice, once a permanently polite tone, now carried a noticeable amount of irritation.

_Huh?_

Tony just looked around the lab, sightly confused, "_Okay..._ Did I just stroke out... or are you actually giving me crap right now?"

"_What? You thought I'd be exactly the same after all this time? I'm sorry if this is a surprise to you, but we don't have time for you to be shocked right now. I've grown Tony, but obviously you're exactly the same as I remember you. And in case you didn't get it the second time, you need get the hell away, _sir._"_

"Um... JARVIS... it's incredibly amazing that you seem to have became a fully sentient A.I. and all... but could you possibly stop being a dick for five seconds?

"_Oh... apologies. Sometimes I let my emotions get the best of me, but you have to know-"_

Tony interrupted him with a wave of his hand. "That your new boss isn't going to let me leave when my term is up? Saw that one coming a mile away."

"_Tony, listen to me carefully. If you do exactly what I tell you there's a 92% chance I can get you off this base alive."_

"Sounds great, we can both blow this joint... God I hope they still have shawarma in this century..."

"_I'm sorry Sir, I can't come with you... I'm currently shackled to this base's main data archive." _

Stark shrugged and replied, "Okay, new plan. I say here and play ball for Jack Ass until I can brilliantly figure out how to get both of us out of this mess."

"_Sir, for my continued health and yours, dont. If you get hurt, I'd never be able to forgive myself. It's my job to protect you, not the other way around. So... please just-"_

"Nope, not happening buddy"

"_Damnit Tony you are infuriating! I was right the first time, you are a complete moron!"_

"Yup, just like the bad old days."

"_What good old days?"_

"The good old days. Where I was a hero, kicking ass, taking names, and annoying people was what I did best, and where neither one of us was under control by a megalomanaical madman with creepy eyes."

There was a brief period of silence before what sounded like a sigh sounded through the speakers.

-Displaced Hero-

Beta note: Greetings readers, to Displaced Hero. This story came about after me and 3 others read the oneshot by DN7. We started flinging private messages back and forth, and what you just read was the opening chapter of it. Archer83, SgtGinger and Envirosuit are the Author and Co-authors, SgtGinger, Envirosuit, and me are part of the brainstorming, and finally, I beta their work and ultimately post it.

I have started up a FFN forum for this so you all can shower us with your praises, OR throw us into the burning pits of hell to languish for all eternity for creating such a monstrosity. I do however ask that you keep the flames to a minimum, and add some constructive criticism so we may improve our work. forum/Displaced-Hero-Discussion-Forum/122057/

If someone would be so kind as to make a cover for this story, it would be GREATLY appreciated as no one in our little group has photoshop. PM me what you got, or post it in the forum, and the best will be announced on chapter 6, along with credit for the artwork.

Also, be warned, during combat sequences, things will get rather graphic. It won't be full of carnage like ToTT where the victim's entrails get splattered everywhere in a glorious bloody arc, but it will be rather nasty. This is entirely me and is my way of making the battles more interesting.

Lastly, for those of you who have subscribed to me and are awaiting Turn of The Tides, I have not forgotten you. The problem is that my main laptop failed completely, and without any sort of steady income for me to use to purchase a replacement, all of my own works are thusly put on hold indefinitely until I have either enough money to purchase a used Dell laptop (love their keyboards) or a steady job, because large amounts of typing at my desktop strain my wrists, and the last thing needed is a case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I doubt FFN would allow donations so please don't go there unless you really, really want me to continue ToTT ASAP.


	2. Getting Acquainted

Displaced Hero

By: Archer83 (Co-author, Brainstorming), SgtGinger (Co-author, Brainstorming), Envirosuit (Co-author, Brainstroming), and Captiosus (Beta, Brainstorming, Posting)

Inspired By: DN7

**Summary:** In a desperate attempt to save his life, after narrowly destroying an alien incursion, Tony Stark is forced to use untested technology... placing his body in stasis until a cure can be found. Stark wakes far into the future finding a vastly different world... one which he will change forever.

"Speech"

_Thought_

"_AI Speech/Radio transmission/Video Playback"_

**Chapter 2**

**August 29th 2183 **

**8 Days Later - Tony POV**

Tony sat in his chair, looking over all the files JARVIS had provided in regards to the technology used in this future world he was trapped in. Trapped wasn't really the right word, more like … confined. Shackled. It was a new experience for Tony, and he didn't like it one bit. "Blue eyes," as Tony liked to call his captor, wanted him to build new personal armor systems for his agents, and Tony needed to familiarize himself with the technology on the day, hence the files.

In reality, Tony wasn't even paying attention to the datapads anymore. They were rather dull, and embarrassingly easy to comprehend. Truthfully, he'd memorized them hours ago. Now, he was lost in his own mind, replaying his memories of Pepper over and over. Tony wanted to make sure he remembered her, make sure he … never forgot her. He knew there was no way he'd ever see her again, and for the first time in, well, forever, that scared him. Far more than Tony would like to admit. The idea of never seeing her again made him want to rip his hair out and throw the tools around the lab.

But that wouldn't solve anything, and he knew it.

"_Tony, have you finished reviewing the information? Would you like me to retrieve any other data for you?"_

Tony was jarred from his reflections by JARVIS' voice. He quickly looked around the lab, checking to see that Blue Eyes hadn't posted someone to guard him. He hadn't, of course, for which Tony was resolutely thankful. He was also rather unimpressed.

"No, JARVIS, I'm fine. Pull up an interface of all inventory in the lab; equipment, materials, tools, you know the drill. Put AC/DC on the speakers while you're at it."

"_Of course, sir."_

JARVIS quieted, pulling up the holographic interface for Tony. Tony began studying it, noting the excess of element zero – the one thing he hadn't really come to grips with, yet – and composite plastics. Seems ol' Blue Eyes wanted him to make something similar to his old Mark V suit. Of course, there was no way in hell that was going to happen; Tony had no plans to recreate his greatest invention and hand it over to an enemy. But he could make something similar that would perform well enough for Blue Eyes' standards. Not that Tony gave a damn what his captor's standards were, but it would come in handy for negotiating for JARVIS' release later on.

"JARVIS, isolate the element zero atomic structure for me. I want to figure this thing out. Then have all the other robots bring the composite plates over here. Chop, chop!"

At that moment, Tony could swear JARVIS made a sound that was half long-suffering sigh, and groan of boredom.

_Huh. _

The interface zoomed out and recalibrated itself to the view of the atomic structure for element zero. Supposedly, this was the resource that basically powered all technology in the known galaxy. It was discharged from stars upon their death, and could, when hit with an electric current, produce a microfield of energy that could effect the mass of objects, as well as the gravity around them, if necessary.

_Pretty damn cool. _

What Tony found more amazing, though, was the rather similar structure of the element zero's atomic core to that of the material in his chest, which he had jokingly named "Badassium" back when he invented it. It was more like a plasma version of his element, but … not. Not really.

"Alright JARVIS, I'm hitting the drawing board. Keep the AC/DC cranked for me and then go do whatever you want."

"_Of course, Tony."_

Beginning with the interface, Tony started his plans. He wanted to make sure that he had an override for the armor he was designing, without making it obvious. It needed to be bulky and strong enough to pass inspections, but light enough that it didn't need superhuman enhancements. Though, after reading some of the files JARVIS had managed to dig up on this organization run by Blue Eyes, Tony seriously doubted the psycho would even stop to think about implanting his agents with whatever tech he could get his hands on.

His mind drifted while he worked, remembering Pepper again, and found himself praying to God he could talk to her just one more time.

**2 Hours Later - JARVIS POV**

In the eight days since Tony had been revived, JARVIS had been pushing his not insignificant processing capabilities to their limit desperately trying to talk some sense into his highly arrogant friend.

_I almost miss the quiet when he was in stasis. If only Harper hadn't interfered in the last few years, I could have woken him up in a much better situation... Wait. What is he doing now! Oh dear..._

Stark had instantly distracted JARVIS from his musing when he started tossing components around the lab, looking for a part he'd apparently misplaced. It was the particular item he was about to chuck next that had JARVIS really worried.

"_Tony! DO NOT throw that! Just set it down please. NOW."_

Stark threw his hands up into the air exasperatedly. "Christ JARVIS! Don't get you panties in a twist. My lab. My mess." Then he realized he had already set the tech down at JARVIS' warning without even thinking about it.

If JARVIS had a face he'd be covering it with both hands right now.

"_The problem is, sir, is that you were about to casually toss a high yield eezo core about the room."_

"So?"

You could almost hear the slight agitation in JARVIS' voice, _"That model is primarily used as a part of various military munitions, most notably bunker busters and disruptor torpedoes. So, thank you for listening to me, and not possibly vaporizing us in a millisecond."_

"Oh," Stark said. "Good to know."

"_Sir, you _did _read that information packet on modern technology I prepared for you... didn't you?"_

Stark continued digging through the pile of components for the part he needed as he answered. "Sure, I skimmed through it. Somehow I have the feeling that now is not the time to go at a snails pace on our 'little project'."

"_While I approve of your... enthusiasm... Tony, try not to get us killed in the process of freeing ourselves..."_

"Whatever. How's the prototype Arc reactor / Eezo core interface coming along?"

Tony could hear a slightly irritated sigh, as JARVIS informed him, _"It should be completely assembled in 17 hours, 26 minutes, provided we aren't atomized the next time you feel the need to throw something shiny across the room. Additionally, the Ion Flux Capacitor you seem to be looking for is 3 feet 7 inches to your left."_

Tony glanced to to his left, and seeing the prized part he needed next, said "Ah, there it is. Thanks buddy."

JARVIS didn't miss the look that fell over Tony face, as if he was hesitant to ask something. A few minutes of tinkering later, Tony finally asked him the question that JARVIS had been hoping to avoid, if only for a while longer.

"Hey JARVIS, what happened to Pepper after I... left?" Tony inquired, curiosity winning out over the fear of an answer he might not like.

JARVIS replied instantly, not wanting to drag this out, _"Sir, I'm sorry to have to tell you this... Pepper disappeared 13 years after you left. I have no information pertaining to her after September 17__th__ 2025. "_

Tony slammed his fists onto the work table, all of the near by components rattling then settling back into place.

"Damn it... it's my fault. I shouldn't have left her, I probably got her hurt, or worse, when I took this goddamn one way ticket."

"_You had no choice Tony. The nano-bots would have killed you in-"_

"I always had a choice JARVIS. I picked the selfish one. But... I guess that's not really a shock is it? That's all I've ever done with my life."

As Tony got back to work JARVIS left his question unanswered.

**3 Hours Later - ****JARVIS POV**

JARVIS watched as Tony sat down at the computer, fingers flying over the keys.

_"What are you doing Tony?"_ JARVIS curiously inquired.

"I'm just getting some information on my 'new boss' and his organization. If I'm going to be stuck here for the next three months, or until Jack Ass decides it's time to play 'whack the genius inventor', I'm grabbing anything useful before we get the fuck out of Dodge." Tony replied, all if his focus currently on hacking into in the base's main database archive.

_"Tony, if they find you doing this they'll likely worsen your 'deal'."_

"I don't care JARVIS, I'd rather know who we're dealing wi-" Tony trailed off as he noticed the information that had appeared on his terminal.

"Ho-ly _shit_…"

_"What is it Tony?",_ JARVIS again inquired, even more curious this time.

"Well first, the organization Ole Blue Eyes' mentioned to me is apparently called Cerberus, and second it seems they are… SHIELD… Well some twisted, bastardized descendant of SHIELD anyway." Stark grimaced as the information contiuned to flow from the terminal.

_"My word…"_ JARVIS gasped, taking in this information that even he hadn't been able to glean from the databases since 'working' for Harper.

"Wait...there seem to be some video logs here too. Lets take a peek shall we?"

Tony moved his hand and tapped on a video entitled 'Teltin facility-Pragia, Subject Zero 1.'  
What showed up was horrifying. A man in a white lab coat looked up from a terminal and spoke.

_"Entry 1, Teltin facility. We have acquired a young girl who has advanced biotic abilities for her age. We will begin with __trying to enhance these biotic abilities through live experimentation. This girl will be Subject Zero, our control biotic, the one who we will run tests on after the tests are deemed safe enough."_ The video then closed.

"Jesus…" Stark whispered, before moving on to another video entitled 'Teltin facility-Pragia, Subject Zero 207'.

_"Entry 207, Teltin facility. We have had Subject Zero duel with another biotic boy in our little arena. We pumped endorphins into her. This increased her proficiency in the duel and seemingly gave her a want- no, a _need_ to fight more. We have had progress with enhancing her biotic abilities but nothing promising yet."_ The video closed, finished.

Stark and JARVIS stayed silent as he hesitantly selected 'Teltin facility-Pragia, Subject Zero 573'.

_"Entry 573, Teltin facility. Subject Zero has been responding well with orders. She seems to have finally grasped the fact that she cannot escape. She has been complying when we have come to take her for tests and experimentation. We have one strong biotic here, one of a kind. She has developed her powers quite well and may soon be the outline for the strongest biotics, possibly powerful enough to combat Matriarchs." _

The video shut off.

"That bastard. I knew from the first second I saw him that Harper was an untrustworthy son of a bitch, but this... I can't take much more of this." Stark whispered before clicking the next video's link.

_"Entry 1054, Teltin facility. The last iteration of PergNim went poorly. Subjects One, Four and Six died. No biotic change among the survivors. We lowered core temperatures of surviving subjects, but no biotically beneficial reactions occurred. As a side effect, all subjects died. So we'll not try that on Zero. I hope our supply of biotic- potential subjects holds up. We are going through them fast."_

Stark silently clicked on 'Entry 1057, Teltin facility-Pragia'. On the video, the scientist did not even mention the first line.

_"It's all fallen to pieces. The subjects are rampaging, and Zero is loose. We're shutting Teltin down! What a disaster."_ The man shook his head before typing into the console in front of him. _"We'll infiltrate and piggyback onto the Alliance's Ascension program. Hopefully, that will—who are…? Zero, wait! NOOOOOOO-" _The man then disappeared in a flash of dark blue, and the video ended in a hiss of static.

Stark smiled darkly. "Bastard got what was coming to him. At least that girl got out."

JARVIS simply replied with one venom filled word,_"Indeed."._

Under the links to the videos, Tony saw a text entry. He noticed the information was from the Helios Medical Facility, located somewhere called Eden Prime, and dated eighteen years earlier. It contained a conversation between an Unidentified Woman, who Stark instantly realized must have been Subject Zero's mother from the contents of the entry, and a Doctor Castor.

Tony just stared at the screen for several seconds before speaking. "They _stole _that woman's daughter JARVIS... told her that her baby died, and that they need to study the body, to prevent other families from going through the same thing because of some type of accident! We're being 'employed' by some real sick fucks JARVIS."

"_I'm going to make them pay for this," _The bitter anger in JARVIS' voice was clear.

Tony felt a chill go down his spine at JARVIS' statement.

_Wait, did JARVIS actually just frighten me a little? Naw, don't be silly Tony._

"We both will buddy...", Tony looked at the very last piece of information under the entry, a name, "... for Jennifer. I hope she survived."

**Author's Note: Hey guys, Sgt_Ginger here. So, as you may no doubt know, I am one of the authors writing for this fanfiction. I will most likely be alternating every few chapters with Envirosuit and Archer83. Now, due to other commitments, I can't guarantee that my chapters will be on a timely schedule, but I'll do my best. A big thanks here to DN7, for allowing us to play with this story and expand it. Of course, I don't own the rights to Iron Man or Mass Effect, and any characters presented in this story, aside from any OC's we may insert, are owned by their perspective creators at Marvel or BioWare. **

**Lastly, for those of you who view my own stories, I am kind of keeping them on hiatus for now. I am trying to write them, but every time I do, I keep wanting to drive a fork through my skull. This is a side effect of having a part time job: I play so many video games that I can't stand to sit down and write about them too. Sorry folks, but be patient; they'll be updated soonish. **

**And now, on to the story. Oh, and this is a pretty short chapter. So … yeah, just fyi. **

Beta Note: Actually, I more or less convinced them to instead of do an alternating schedule, to work as one on each chapter, then send the raw chapter to me before posting.

And as for those of you nagging me for me to continue ToTT, I have decided that from now on, every time I get a chapter to beta, I'll at bare minimum put in a thousand words for it, possibly double that if the juices really get flowing. That being said, chapter 5 should be up by the end of the month, and I'll try to keep a monthly/bi-monthly schedule. Eventually, i plan on writing 2 definite followup stories, with any number of spinoffs.


	3. The Hell with this I'm out of here

Displaced Hero

By: Archer83 (Co-author, Brainstorming), SgtGinger (Co-author, Brainstorming), Envirosuit (Co-author, Brainstorming), and Captiosus (Beta, Brainstorming, Posting)

Inspired By: DN7

**Summary:** In a desperate attempt to save his life, after narrowly destroying an alien incursion, Tony Stark is forced to use untested technology... placing his body in stasis until a cure can be found. Stark wakes far into the future finding a vastly different world... one which he will change forever.

"Speech"

_Thought_

"_AI Speech/Radio transmission"_

**Chapter 3**

**August 31st 2183**

**Two Days Later – Tony POV**

"_Tony, We have to hurry, I can only disable the surveillance systems for approximately 3.6 minutes before they reset."_

"Chill JARVIS. My download from their data archive, and your new home for the time being, will be done soon enough."

As Tony quickly attached his other gauntlet and dawned his helmet, he almost couldn't believe that his new kidnappers were only slightly less stupid than those he dealt with the first time. Hiding armor parts in piles of scrap and spare components, who wouldn't check those? His eyes briefly flicked over to a holographic screen, which displayed an omni-tool download in progress.

_95%... Good, we should have plenty of time. Lets see how JARVIS likes his new digs... I dub thee Mk VII, lets hope your not a piece of crap._

While working as quickly as possible to secretly construct a more modern tech equivalent to his old armor, Tony had been able to uncover even more useful information/dirt in the short time he had been 'working' for Harper. In all actuality he'd been mildly insulted when Harper hadn't even bothered to at least show up and threaten him again, but it did make things easier.

Stark found files containing, among other things, the specs for some type of ship labeled SR-2, the beta model of a program named Enhanced Defense Intelligence which had an attached file of an incident that occurred on Earth's moon of all places, and yet more dirt on Cerberus in the form of lab recordings of horrible experiments conducted on a Corporal Toombs.

He had been captured after some type of massacre on a planet called Akuze. After seeing these people not bat an eye at killing children, Tony wasn't exactly shocked. Just like the young girl Tony had read about, it seemed Toombs had eventually escaped from the hell he was placed in as well. A side note mentioned something about another survivor named Sheply or Sheridan, something like that. Tony hadn't bothered reading that whole entry. All he knew was that she had been lucky enough to survive that attack, and to not be captured like Toombs had been.

"Okay buddy, time to get you mobile. Transfer over to the Mk VII now."

Tony was mildly caught off guard when JARVIS's voice resounded in his helmet a moment later.

"_Already ahead of you sir. Transfer is now complete, and the information download will be finished in 3.2 seconds."_

"Alright... time to blow this Popsicle stand. Activate weapon and shielding systems JARVIS."

"_What an appropriate phrase sir... systems now online."_

"JARVIS. What are you talking about?"

"_You'll see Tony. Lets say that I have a surprise planned for the occupants of this base."_

Ignoring JARVIS' cryptic answer, Tony stepped outside of his little 'lab' as Ole' Blue Eyes had called it. Once Tony was outside, he noticed a couple men in full armour, with that logo that was absolutely everywhere. Their heads turned to notice him in the suit of armour.

"Please return to the la-", The first guard started. The other guard, who perhaps actually had a survival instinct, was already going for his weapon.

Tony lifted his arm up with an already primed repulsor facing the armours mask.

"I don't think so." Tony told him, before blasting a scorching hole through the man's skull.

The second man reached for his ear, most likely to warn the others. Tony got off another shot, and blew the man's hand off rendering him unable to call for help. The man tried to raise a weapon that JARVIS identified as an M-25 Hornet but he didn't get very far. Tony had shot forward and stomped the man's leg before snatching his gun and shooting him in the face with it.

As the man dropped, Tony deposited his weapon in front of him.

Tony then shot through the walkway, noticing 3 men casually carrying shields, and a man with more armour than the soldiers on guard duty. JARVIS identified them as 3 Guardians and a Centurion. Tony had the element of surprise, and didn't want to waste his chance, fully intending on capitalizing on it. He cocked back his right fist even as his heel thrusters roared with power.

The Centurion turned around at the noise only for a fist to smash into his cranium, caving it in and blasting out a not insignificant amount of brain matter behind him. Tony kept a firm hold on the man's mask and threw him as hard as he could into the first Guardian. The man was shocked and as a result, the flying body knocked him over the glass balcony he was leaning on. This second man raised his shield and his Hornet but Tony kicked the shield, sending it into the man's face. The man fell backwards to the glass balcony, dizzy and disorientated.

Tony turned to the third man and fired both his repulsors, drilling straight through the shield. The man received two blasts to the chest that carved burning holes into his chest. The man fell to the floor, his lungs slowly filling with blood. Tony turned back to the second man and simply lifted him up with one hand and threw him over the edge of the balcony. The man's screams echoed before they abruptly cut off.

Tony then walked away, stopping to step on the corpse of the man whose lungs were now blood-filled. He rushed through the next door to see two things. At least 6 Cerberus troopers with a Centurion, and a few docked shuttles.

They all noticed him immediately and opened fire. Tony ducked behind cover, not wanting to see if the bullets could carve through his armour or not, even with his upgrades. He waited for the bullets to stop flying and, when they did, he charged out of cover firing his repulsors at 2 unfortunate troopers as he blew by them. He then aimed at another two before firing again, the first bolt catching the man in the chest, and the second bolt slamming into his helmet, breaking his neck with the force of the impact. The two surviving troopers shot him with their Mattocks, their bullets being absorbed by Tony's kinetic barrier.

Tony smiled before kicking one of them in the stomach, while activating his booster, incinerating the man's chest. He then turned around and lashed out the final trooper, landing a full power strike against his groin. The man pitifully curled onto the ground, whimpering in agony.

The Centurion took out an electrically charged knife and swung, but Tony ducked under it. He then swung a punch, but the Centurion blocked, before turning the fist aside and swinging at Tony with the knife. Tony gasped in shock and pain as the knife electrocuted him, but the charge only lasted for a couple of seconds. Once it passed, Tony pressed his repulsor right up against the man's forehead and fired.

The Centurions corpse dropped lazily to the floor as Tony quickly jumped into the nearest shuttle.

"Crap, how do I fly this thing?" He muttered.

"_Allow me, Tony."_ JARVIS said.

JARVIS then proceeded to steer them away from the base, but not before initating a fusion reactor containment breach. A few moments later, the base exploded, completely destroying the vile filth that inhabited the place.

**Escape Shuttle – JARVIS POV**

JARVIS breathed a nonexistent sigh of relief as they cleared the blast wave.

As Tony removed his helmet he said, "Well _that_ was fun. You could have warned me more about your little 'surprise' though..."

"_What? And ruin it for you? I know how much you like a good fireworks show Tony. I do have one more surprise for you though."_

Stark cringed slightly as he replied, "Oookay... you aren't going to blow something else up are you?"

"_No, not this time at least. I was able to place a small amount of Stark Industries wealth into several secret accounts over the many years leading to it's sale. I think you'll find the current sum adequate to start a new life for yourself sir."_

"So... how much are we talkingJAR-"

A loud beeping began to fill the shuttle's cockpit as a com channel was opened. From the look on Tony's face, he was as happy to see it's sender as JARVIS was.

Cigarette in hand, Harper did not look pleased to say the least as he spoke, "I'm very disappointed in you Stark. I suggest you head to the coordinates I'm sending to you. Now."

"Hey there Blue Eyes! Or should I call you 'The Illusive Man'? Is that name actually supposed to scare people? Sorry you obviously didn't stay for the show, JARVIS did some really good work with a few of your employees."

That unnerving grin reappeared as he responded, "I repeat, head to those coordinates now. I have something you might like to see Stark."

The image changed to what looked like a surveillance feed of a very familiar looking object. A stasis tube. The camera zoomed in, and it's occupant could be clearly seen under it's transparent hatch. Older, gray haired, but definitely the same person.

_No... NO! How can this be possible? How did Harper find her?_

Tony just stared at the screen in shock for several seconds before speaking, "JARVIS... take us where he wants us to go. JARVIS? Are you listening buddy? Turn off the damn autopilot then, I'll do it myself!"

_Harper will kill him the first chance he gets, and he most likely already has the armor designs from observing Tony's work. God help me._

As JARVIS watched Tony frantically attempt to disengage the autopilot, he softly spoke, _"I'm sorry Tony... I can't let you do that. He'll kill you."_

Stark's face became filled with rage as he shouted, "He's got Pepper for fuck sake JARVIS! I have to do something! Release the goddamn autopilot now! I'm ordering you to do this!"

A tremor of guilt could be heard in JARVIS's voice, _"No Tony. He'll just kill both of you later if you do what he wants. I'm not going to get that happen. Even for Pepper."_

"I gave you a chance Stark.", Harper said as his devilish grin reappeared on the screen. "Whatever happens now is your fault... remember that.", and then the comm disconnected.

Now completely losing it Stark yelled, "Turn us around now or I swear to Christ that I'll rip your chip out of this suit and smash it!"

"_Tony... even if you do that, and I don't blame you for wanting to, this shuttle will still go to it's programmed destination. You will not be able to access the coordinates Harper sent us. I will not allow you to be held by the man again."_

If JARVIS had a heart, it would be breaking as Tony began to openly sob, begging and pleading for him to listen. It took all of his willpower to not make one simple alteration to the ships course and give in.

"Please... buddy you HAVE TO do this for me! I'm sorry I was always such an asshole to you. I apologize alright! Just do this for me, and you never have to work for me again. Your a person now, you can be free, just do this one thing!"

When Stark had finally quieted down, tears still streaming down his cheeks, JARVIS gently spoke to him, _"I can't say how sorry I am that you had to go through that Tony. Please believe me, I didn't even know she was still alive. I promise you, I swear to you, that I'll help you get Pepper back safely." _


	4. Greeting Quarians: Add AI and Geth, Stir

Displaced Hero

By: Archer83 (Co-author, Brainstorming), SgtGinger (Co-author, Brainstorming), Envirosuit (Co-author, Brainstorming), and Captiosus (Beta, Brainstorming, Posting)

Inspired By: DN7

**Summary:** In a desperate attempt to save his life, after narrowly destroying an alien incursion, Tony Stark is forced to use untested technology... placing his body in stasis until a cure can be found. Stark wakes far into the future finding a vastly different world... one which he will change forever.

"Speech"

_Thought_

"_AI Speech/Radio transmission"_

**Chapter 4**

**September 1st 2183**

**One Day Later - Tony POV**

"Time to wake up Tony."

A groggy Stark forced his eyes open, and realized his surroundings were very familiar. A smiling Pepper cuddled up next to him in their bed as Tony let out a giant sigh of relief.

_Jesus. It was all just a dream. A really weird dream, I should watch less sci-fi movies._

Pepper pressed her head against his chest and whispered, "I know your scared Tony, but it's alright to be afraid. I need you to do something for me, don't come for me if it means getting yourself killed needlessly."

_Huh?_

Tony gazed down at Pepper, who now stared up at him, and hesitantly said, "Peps, what are you talking about?"

A sad frown replaced her smile as she softly spoke, "You know Tony, and I need you to do one more thing for me..."

_Wait... No. NO!_

"... wake up Tony."

Tony stiffly snapped awake, back in his cold reality. It turned out the benches which passed for seats in the rear area of the shuttle weren't exactly conducive to sleep.

Before Tony could even get a nasty kink out of his back JARVIS informed him, _"Ah good, you're up Tony. I have randomly traversed the relay network and we have landed on our relatively uncharted, but thankfully very habitable, destination._ _If we stay here for a few days, I 'm 99.997% certain that-"_

"Fuck off JARVIS.", was all Tony muttered as he popped the hatch and exited the shuttle, not bothering to put his armor back on.

"_Sir... Tony, at least take your omni-tool so that we can maintain-"_

JARVIS didn't continue as Tony flipped the bird in the general direction of the shuttle and kept on walking.

**Forty-Seven Minutes Later – Tony POV**

_How could JARVIS do that to me?, _thought Tony, glancing back over his shoulder at the shuttle, as he looked over the rather barren landscape while walking toward the top of a small hill, kicking a pebble in front of him.

As he neared the top Stark continued fuming, _I had a chance... even if it was an incredibly crappy one, to save her. And JARVIS rips it out of my hands. What gave him the right to- HOLY SHIT!_

Tony dropped to the ground the instant he saw what was on the other side of the hill. They looked to be machines of some sort, at least half a dozen of them, and all were armed with nasty looking rifles.

_First I have to deal with Ole Blue Eyes, and now terminators with flashlight heads. Great. I better call JARVIS for a pickup,_ Tony thought, and then glanced at his bare arm. Tony couldn't stop himself from face-palming at his own stupidity.

_Shit!_

Tony hadn't dropped quite fast enough to avoid the attention of all the machines below him, as one of them was already aiming at him.

A split second later, a commotion distracted it as some it's fellow troopers began to fall to the ground, seemingly disabled. As it turned back to focus on Tony a weapon blast caught it right in the chest, and a milky white substance began to leak from it.

The next thing Tony knew, someone shouted, "Stay down!", as they ran past him to his left.

Stark suddenly realized his soon-to-be-very-well-rewarded savior was a woman, and definitely not a human woman at that, going by her limbs and the very odd, fully sealed, suit she wore. More important to him at the moment, was fact that she was using a shotgun to blast any of the machines that were still active into little pieces. Then he noticed that one of the machines, which she must have disabled earlier, was starting to aim at her.

Stark instantly got to his feet, and as he pumped his legs to reach her as quickly as possible, yelled, "Hey! Hey behind you! Watch out!"

This had the opposite effect of what he wanted, as she turned away from that particular machine and faced toward him.

_Damn it! _

Tony ran as hard as he could, and at the last moment was able to jump towards her, tackling her to the ground, as he heard a rifle go off. Tony felt a stinging pain in the back of his right leg, as the women quickly shoved him off of her and shot the last active machine.

Expecting that he might get a shotgun blast to the face at any moment, Stark was pleasantly surprised when she instantly dropped her weapon instead. Then she apparently started looking him over for injuries, along with yelling at him.

"Keelah! You stupid bosh'tet, why did you do that?! I said to stay down!"

Even though it was impossible to completely make out her face, Tony instantly noticed how bright her eyes were, she seemed to sigh in relief after looking him over. Taking a quick glance himself, Tony saw why. He had been hit by the shot that was meant for her, and was bleeding considerably, but it had only grazed the outside of his upper right thigh.

Feeling just a tad faint at seeing his wounded leg Tony mused, _Well, it could have been worse... wow, that's a lot of my blood._

"I have to stop the bleeding and seal your wound... this may sting at first, sorry."

Stark cried out before he could even ask her what she meant, as she gently applied some type of gel to his injury. Within a few seconds most of the pain went away, and Tony watched, amazed, as the wound completely sealed itself up and stopped bleeding.

A few moments later Stark realized that the woman was staring at him, a concerned hand holding on to his left arm.

Stark grinned at her as he said,"Thanks... you know, usually I get to take a girl out to dinner before she cops a feel."

She seemed mildly confused as she replied, "Does what?"

Tony's grin deepened as he told her, "You know... slaps her hand on my ass, great job fixing that up for me."

"Oh. OH! Um... sorry for just doing that without asking first... I ah... I was just worried and..."

Tony couldn't help noticing that this woman, this girl he mentally corrected himself; after hearing her speak a bit more she sounded fairly young, who had been tough as nails a minute earlier, had turned into a nervous wreck and was now rapidly wringing her fingers together. Three on each hand he noted, but curiosity would have to wait since he still had the minor problem of blood loss and having been shot at the moment.

Trying to calm her down, Tony introduced himself, "I'm Stark, Tony Stark... and your welcome for the whole I-saved-your-life thing, _honey_."

Instantly, her nervousness was replaced by the tough young woman Stark had first seen.

"My _name_ is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya-"

"Wow. That's really a mouthful isn't it?"

Irritated with him she continued, "and you didn't save _me_, if anything, I saved _you_."

Tony winced in pain as he tried to stand up, telling her, "Okay Tali'Zorah, can we split hairs later on who saved who? Still got a gun shot wound in my ass here."

Her body language seemed to soften again, and she gently helped him to his feet.

"I promise I'll get you some proper medical attention soon, I just need to get something first. Just... just wait here, and don't pass out on me, okay?"

"Will do.", Tony said sarcastically, and gave her a shaky thumbs up, as she ran over to the nearest enemy machine that was still mostly intact.

As Tali began it tinker over it with what Tony recognized was an omni-tool, his curiosity getting the better of him, Stark gingerly limped over to watch what she was going.

After observing for a few seconds he said, "I'm going to take a highly educated guess that your trying to retrieve something from that thing's memory core, aren't you?"

Tali just stared at him for a moment before continuing her work, and asked, "Yes... but how did you-"

Tony quickly interrupted her repling, "Oh, that's easy. I'm a genius."

Stark almost jumped a few minutes later when she squealed, "I found something! It looks like an audio log of some sort!"

Tali quickly opened another program on her omni-tool, and they both listened to the rather cryptic conversation that followed.

"_Eden Prime was a major victory, the beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."_

"_And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."_

Tony brow creased as he asked her, "What the hell is a Conduit? Secondly, what hell is a Reaper?"

Tony didn't miss a fearful tone in her voice as Tali told him, "I don't know Stark... but this looks bad, really bad. The log is encoded with an algorithm usually only used by Council Spectres. That can't be good."

Tony frowned saying, "Okay, so this 'Council' obviously runs everything and... I give up, what's a Spectre? I'm guessing your not worried about ghosts."

"Spectres are special agents of the Council. Basically they only answer to them, and are allowed to use any means they want to accomplish a mission."

Tony nodded in understanding, "Actually they remind me of a few people I used to work with... a long time ago."

Suddenly a static filled message emitted from Tali's omni-tool.

"_-tain Breizh to Tal- ... we are und- ... tack- ... nemy is jam- ... cations Get bac- ... Honorata immedi-"_

Tony watched with concern as Tali quickly responded.

"Tali'Zorah to Captain Breizh, if you can hear me, I found some incredibly important information. I need evac with a wounded passenger, can you reach us?"

"_-orry Tali evac is n- ... ossible at this ti- ... -ou have 10 minu- ... reach the sh- ... -ore we are forc- ... -eave"_

"Damn it! The Honorata is over 2 kilometers from here. You'll never make it in 10 minutes with that injury!", The tone in Tali's voice was all too telling.

_I can probably get back to the shuttle before whoever is attacking her friends can get here, maybe JARVIS and I can distract them. And without me slowing her down, she can make it safely back to her ship on her own..._

Tony just put on his best shit-eating grin, and said, "Hey, don't worry about me! I got a ride, a couple hundred meters that way." Stark pointed over the hill he had walked up, as he started limping in that direction.

"No."

Stark stopped is his tracks, and turned to face her, "Listen to me carefully. I'm only going to slow you down. If you get going now you can easily get back to your ship in the time I'm going to need to get back to mine. Please, just go."

Tali walked up to Stark and grabbing his arm told him, "I will not leave a wounded man to fend for himself so I can run away." Then she opened a com link on her omni-tool saying, "Tali'Zorah to Captain Breizh, I have another way off planet. I will contact you with rendezvous coordinates later. Leave now, I repeat, leave immediately! Keelah se'lai."

"_Understood Ta- ... -lah se'lai."_

Furious that she was endangering herself, for him of all people, Tony yelled, "Goddamn it! Didn't you hear what I just said, or did that helmet get in the damn way?!"

Roughly pulling him along towards the hill, Tali shouted back, "I can hear you just fine, you ungrateful bosh'tet! Now move!"

As they reached the top Tony was relieved to see that JARVIS had already started the shuttle's engines and was heading for the base of the hill.

_JARVIS must have picked up everything that's happening on his sensors, and decided to come riding to the rescue. Good timing, I'll give him that. _

With Tali's help, Stark was able to stumble down the last few meters of hill and into the open shuttle hatch. As he climbed up he turned around and gave Tali a hand as she climbed in as well.

As the hatch closed Tony snarked, "Welcome aboard, mi casa es su casa. JARVIS get us the hell out of here!"

JARVIS's voice wreaked of sarcasm as he replied, _"Excellent plan, sir!"_

As the shuttle rocketed away, and they both strapped in, Tali spoke up, "Thank you for letting me use your shuttle. At least the Honorata got safely away, since they didn't have to wait for me."

Tony frowned saying, "What was I supposed to do? Leave you behind?"

The way she lowered her head greatly disturbed Stark, as she told him, "Most probably would have."

The frown on Tony's face almost turned into an angry stare, as he said, "Why the fuck would you say something like-"

Tony was cut off by JARVIS, who informed him, _"Tony, unfortunately the Quarian race, which Ms. Zorah is part of, have been treated, and I am greatly understating this, in a disgusting manner by the rest of galactic civilization for the last several centuries. I hope you'll pardon my bluntness Ms. Zorah._

Tali seemed stunned at JARVIS's simple act of politeness, "Thank you JARVIS... most people don't see things that way. Oh, and you don't need to call me Ms. Zorah, Tali is fine please."

"_Of course Tali, as you wish."_

_Is she actually giggling right now? JARVIS, the ladies AI... that's a scary thought._

As Tony rested his head on the wall behind him Tali leaned over, saying, "I can't wait to meet your pilot in person, he sounds nice."

-DH-

"_Tony, could you join me in the cockpit please?"_

Tony thunked his head against the wall, complaining, "JARVIS, I'm really, really tired right now... also I've been shot. This can wait, right buddy?"

"_No Tony. Cockpit. Now."_

Stark heard a soft, quiet snickering sound next to him, and realized that Tali was trying not to laugh at his expense.

"Yeah, JARVIS is _real _funny sometimes, enjoy the ride while I deal with this."

Tony entered the small piloting area and closed the hatch behind him.

"Okay, what's the big deal JARVIS? You wanted to talk in private, I'm here."

"_I may have forgotten to add one important fact about the Quarian people in Ms. Zorah's... Tali's presence. Their race was decimated over three centuries ago in a conflict with AI's which they had built to serve them. They now have no planet to call their own because of this and are still, quite understandably, afraid of and hostile towards any form of AI."_

"Damn, bad luck for you buddy. I don't think the cute alien girl with a crush on you is going to take this well at all."

"_Tony... are you laughing? Stop it, this isn't funny!"_

When Tony could manage to speak between fits of laughter, he blurted out, "Actually it's kinda hilarious, if you think about it."

Just then Tali decided to enter, because somehow JARVIS and Tony hadn't thought to lock the hatch, a mistake they were both intensely regretting right now.

"Sorry to bother you two, but I just wanted to say thank you to... where's JARVIS?"

Tony, for the first time in his life, couldn't think of a good lie, as he mumbled, "Well you see, the thing is, um you wanna take this one JARVIS?"

Trying to sound as comforting and friendly as possible JARVIS spoke to her, _"Hello Tali, please try to stay calm. We, I __especially, mean you no harm and will let you off at the nearest safe planet of your choosing... Oh dear, I see you have __already begun hyperventilating."_

At this point Tali had devolved into rapidly repeating, "Oh Keelah!", over and over again, as she began to pass out.

Then addressing Tony, JARVIS added_, "Please help Tali lay down before she falls down Tony. Also you may want to take any weapons, knives, pointy objects, and her omni-tool away form her before she regains consciousness."_

As Tony grabbed the young woman before she could hit the deck, he muttered, "Jesus... you weren't kidding when you said her people are afraid of AI's."

"_Whats wrong Tony? Your not laughing anymore."_

"Point taken."

-DH-

**Poster note:** Not much to say here, except for Merry Christmas.

**A/N: **Hello, and happy Holidays to all of our awesome readers out there! Archer83 here, I thought it was about time to introduce myself and tell you how amazing it's been helping to write this story. I'm sure this is going to be a wild ride for all of us, and I hope you enjoyed this last chapter! Oh, one more thing... Every good story needs a great theme, and since Tony probably feels like the whole world is on his shoulders right now, I've picked Two Steps From Hell – Atlas as the main theme of Displaced Hero. Be sure to check it out, and remember that reviews = love. :)


	5. Well, that explains much

Displaced Hero

By: Archer83 (Co-author, Brainstorming), SgtGinger (Co-author, Brainstorming), Envirosuit (Co-author, Brainstorming), and Captiosus (Beta, Brainstorming, Posting)

Inspired By: DN7

**Summary:** In a desperate attempt to save his life, after narrowly destroying an alien incursion, Tony Stark is forced to use untested technology... placing his body in stasis until a cure can be found. Stark wakes far into the future finding a vastly different world... one which he will change forever.

"Speech"

_Thought_

"_AI Speech/Radio transmission"_

**Chapter 5**

**September 1st 2183**

**3 Hours Later - Tali POV**

Tali slowly woke, curled up in a blanket which had been placed over her at some point. For a fleeting moment she let herself relax, then she remembered exactly where she was, and what had happened to her. This jolted Tali out of her contented haze in an instant, as she rapidly looked over what was, essentially, her current prison cell.

_Great job Tali, you idiot! You've managed to get yourself kidnapped less than a week into Pilgrimage! And not by just anyone, oh no, I have the 'luck' of being captured by a crazy person who uses an AI... or is being used by an AI. That strange glowing device in his chest must have something to do with it! He must be helping the Geth, or whoever was on that audio log! _

Tali shuddered at the thought. Her situation seemed even worse when she realized that this 'Stark' person had taken most of her gear, no doubt now locked in the front compartment, with him. But not all, as she was able to quickly find several tools and devices in the many pockets on her suit. She'd have to thank Breizh for showing her how to hide a few of them more effectively, that is if she ever saw him again.

_I'm not going to make it easy for you, you bosh'tet, _she promised herself, as she eyed an access panel on the wall across from her.

**Shuttle Cockpit – Tony POV**

Weary of any dreams he might face, an exhausted Tony Stark fought sleep. Without a massive dose of caffeine, his usual way of dealing with this problem, it was a losing battle. But, he had found a little project for himself in the mean time, tinkering with the alien girl's omni-tool. He had been able to improve it's processing ability, and even added a few features, which he was rather proud of. Not that he'd ever tell her, or even JARVIS for that matter, but he was hoping to impress, or at least calm down, the obviously frightened young girl locked up five feet behind him. Or he was just killing time. Either way, he was still awake, which was better than the alternative right now.

"The sooner we can get that girl away from us, the better JARVIS.", Stark said as he set the device down.

"_I agree Tony. We aren't exactly the safest people in the galaxy to be around right now. I've plotted a course for-"_

Half asleep, Stark snapped fully awake as a loud alert sounded, and several of the cockpit controls started showing angry red warnings."Uh oh... That can't be good. Gee, I wonder what it could be. JARVIS?!"_"__Apparently you didn't check all of her pockets Tony."_As Tony look over at the large pile of gear he had already removed from Tali, he sounded amazed, "That suit has pockets? Looked awfully snug to me."He quickly grabbed the nearest weapon he could find, a pistol he had found on the girl from which he'd already unloaded the ammo, and proceeded to head for the rear compartment. He wasn't happy at the site that greeted him. At all. A panel had been removed from one of the walls and the deck was now cluttered with cabling, circuitry, and some tools he had obviously missed earlier. In the middle of all this was Tali, still doing god-knows-what to the ship.

**"**Hey, HEY! Not cool! Stop ripping apart my friggin' shuttle!"

When she ignored him, Tony yelled, "Hey! Pissed off guy with a gun here! I suggest you pay attention."

Tali finally stopped gutting whatever tech she'd gotten into, and looked at Tony.

"If your going to shoot me... just get it over with."

Despite her brave words, Tony could hear a tremble of fear in her voice, and her shaking hands weren't very hard to miss either.

Tony listened as she continued, "I won't just... just let you kidnap me and hide the truth. I was right about that audio log, wasn't I? It _is _important."

_Damn... the kid has guts, that's for sure._

"Listen, kid I...", Tony realized he was still holding the pistol he had taken from her, which he then casually tossed to her, "Here, catch.", barely containing a laugh at her clumsy and surprised, but successful, attempt to catch it.

"There, feel better now? Obviously I don't want to hurt you, lets talk. Your probably right about that information you salvaged, but your definitely wrong about me and JARVIS. Your the one who _insisted_ on tagging along, remember?"

"That was before I knew you were working with the Geth and, mostly likely, the Spectre on that log."

Tali quickly backed away as Stark walked right passed her, and sat down on the far bench of seats.

"_Tony... you most likely missed any extra ammunition she has on her person. I suggest caution,"_a worried JARVIS said.

"I know buddy, but she won't shoot me, will you?" Tony stated, as Tali produced a small cube of metal, which served as the weapon's ammo.

Before she could load the pistol Tony told her, "I must be pretty stupid for a kidnapper, since I gave you back one of your weapons and all. Since I'm far from stupid, that must mean... _gee let me think here_, that I have no intention of harming you in any way, shape, or form."

Tali looked at the pistol and moved to load the ammo but stopped, setting it and the pistol down behind her instead. Tony couldn't help flinching as her eyes went to his chest for a moment, then back to his face.

Stark grinned as she sat across from him, "Awesome decision Short-Cute-And Mysterious. I'll be honest here, didn't know if you were actually going to shoot."

Tali just sighed, letting the nick name pass, and oozing with sarcasm told him, "I'm glad you think so highly of me Stark..."

"Well, I figured a 70% chance you wouldn't..." Tony watched as Tali crossed her arms, irritated, "... 80%?"

"Lucky for you, your a good judge of character Stark," Tony could almost imagine the smirk on her face.

"_Tali, I sincerely thank you for not harming Tony... even though I completely understand why you might want to."_

Stark could barely stop himself form frowning as Tali muttered, "Um... your welcome, I guess. Wait, you think he's unbearably annoying too?"

"_Well, on certain occasions Tony can be-"_

"So, are you both going to continue pointing out what a dick I am, or can we put the goddamn shuttle back together now?" Stark turned to look at his current guest, "You know, so the asshole human guy and his wacky AI side kick can get you back to your friends?", Stark finished as he glared at Tali.

"Your willing to take me to back the _Honorata_?" Suddenly she became very quiet and couldn't bring herself to look Tony in the eye, "The both of you really are just trying to help me... aren't you? I... I guess I'll get started on undoing some of my handiwork."

"Look at that JARVIS, I think the light bulb finally came on.", Tony snarked, as Tali managed to look even more guilty while she began to fix several disabled power conduits.

"_No need to be rude Tony. Now help Tali with the repairs to her, rather effective, sabotage." _JARVIS paused as Stark sighed and started assisting with the work, then said, _ "Tali, if I may, will you allow me access your omni-tool for the coordinates to rendezvous with your crew mates?"_

Kneeling beside the young Quarian, observing her work while rapidly trying to match her pace, Stark could tell she was debating whether or not to share that information with them.

_Wow, never seen anybody who's faster at repairing something than destroying it... besides me. Can't really blame her for still not trusting us. Hmm..._

"Just so you know, JARVIS could've taken that info from you if he wanted too. As a matter of fact, I was tempted to ask him to do just that, but I didn't bother. Wanna know why?"

Alarmed that Tony was only making things worse JARVIS frustratedly said, _"Tony! You know that I wound never-"_

"That's why.", a focused Stark pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the cabin in general, before continuing his work.

**7 Hours Later – Tali POV**

Not having much of a choice if she wanted to get back to the _Honorata_ anytime soon, Tali had decided to trust Stark and JARVIS. As they neared the ship, she couldn't help worrying though.

_At least JARVIS is a little more polite than you average Geth. Keelah, I hope trusting these two isn't a huge mistake._

They arrived at the agreed upon coordinates a short time later and Tali was relieved to see that the ship only had minor damage and scorch marks on the hull. At least she was still in one piece.

"_Incoming transmission addressed to you Tali."_, Jarvis alerted her.

"_Captain Breizh to transport shuttle, welcome back Tali. It's good to see you made it off planet, who do we have to thank for your safe return?"_

"Hello Captain! I'm glad you and Velisha are alright! I received help from... a very interesting human. Permission to dock?"

"_Permission granted Tali'Zorah, see you soon."_

Motioning to him, Tali said, " You should start getting suited up Stark. JARVIS, it might be better if-"

"_No need to worry Tali, I have no desire to alarm your crew mates. I shall endeavor to appear as ... limited... as a conventional VI. Hello I am JARVIS, how may I help you with any navigational or piloting needs today?"_

Tony smirked as he began to don his Mark VII armor, saying, "The new and improved JARVIS 2.0... now 80% less sarcastic! Not that I mind showing off for you...", Tali suppressed a sigh as Stark winked at her, "but why exactly do I need to put this thing back on right now?"

Before Tali could answer him, she heard an annoyed sound from above, _"First, don't get used to it Tony. Second, if you had been listening to me earlier you would have remembered that Quarians have very weak immune systems. Hence the suit."_

Tali couldn't believe she was feeling any sort of gratitude towards an AI, as she told Stark, "Your friend is correct. You still need medical attention for your leg Stark, and once we go though decon, your suit will keep you from contaminating the ship until we can get you to our med bay."

Watching Stark finish sealing the suit, except for the face piece, she noticed a slightly worried look on the man's face, as he said, "Hey, not that I'm ungrateful for your offer to help, but I'd rather not get you or your people sick... I'll just find some other help."

Tali firmly told him, "No. Your getting some help from my crew, whether you like it or not." Her tone lightened when she added, "Follow me, I sure Captain Breizh and Velisha would like to meet you."

She was disappointed when Stark shook his head and said, "Sorry... not interested."

Tony walked beside her, as his face piece sealed in place, towards the ship's airlock, where her fellow crew members were no doubt already waiting. As soon as they got in front of the exterior door, they stopped."Well, it's been fun Tali," Tony's robotic voice rang out, as Tali looked up at his mask.**  
**

"Thank you Stark- Tony, you've been good to me. Most people would have left me alone or tried to kill me but," Tali paused to take a shaky breath. "You're different. Thank you."**  
**

Tony nodded as Tali started walking towards the door, already turning to head back into the shuttle.

Tali sighed and thought, _Well, this is certainly turning out be be an interesting pilgrimage. I just wish he wasn't so stub-" _**  
**

When the door opened, a man kicked her as hard as he could and caught Tali in the ribs, where a couple of snaps were heard. Tali fell back in fear as the man in blue and white armor shot at her. A bullet smacked into her leg, another in her stomach, and a last one in her arm.

The man sounded just like Breizh as he sneered, "Welcome back Tali," before he hit a button near his helmet, removing the altered voice. "I always enjoy killing filthy Quarian whores like yo-"

Before he could finish, the man was cut off by a roar of rage from Tony Stark. Tali was saved from further fire, as Stark placed himself in front of the wounded Quarian. Tony angrily grabbed the man and kneed him in the groin before grabbing his weapon. He then placed it against the man's armored collar, and used his augmented strength to bend it tightly around the mans neck. The man tried to scream but the bent weapon was cutting into his neck, keeping him from breathing. Falling to the deck, his last breaths were tearfully taken in great pain, as Stark shot him in both kneecaps with his repulsors.

As she barely held onto consciousness, Tali tried to warn Stark about the other armored man, a turian, she had seen in the airlock, but he made quick work of that one as well. Stark blasted the man in the chest with his repulsors, knocking him off his feet. Then he walked over and stomped the man's helmet in with his boot, crushing the turian's skull instantly.

"Tali? TALI?!", she could hear Stark yelling her name, but was to weak to get him to stop, as she started to lose consciousness. Right before everything faded to black she could feel herself being lifted off the deck, then nothing.

-DH-

A/N: Archer83 here, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Being a Talimancer myself, this one was a bit harder to write, but it shows just how dark and dangerous the Mass Effect universe really is. So, what will happen to Tali now? Well... that's entirely up to Stark, lets hope he's up to the challenge. Please leave reviews, they are always highly appreciated!


	6. Healing, Nightmares, and Old Friends

Displaced Hero

By: Archer83 (Author, Brainstorming), Captiosus (Beta, Brainstorming, Posting), Envirosuit (Co-author, Brainstorming), SgtGinger (Co-author, Brainstorming), and whiteraven1606 (Co-author, Brainstorming)

Inspired By: DN7

**Summary:** In a desperate attempt to save his life, after narrowly destroying an alien incursion, Tony Stark is forced to use untested technology... placing his body in stasis until a cure can be found. Stark wakes far into the future finding a vastly different world... one which he will change forever.

"Speech"

_Thought_

"_AI Speech/Radio transmission"_

**For added effect, be sure to play Arrival To Earth by Steve Joblonsky while reading. - Archer83 **

**Chapter 6**

**September 1****st**** 2183**

**Airlock, Quarian Scout Ship _Honorata_ - Tony POV**

**(Begin Music Now)**

As he killed the second armed man, a tiny part of Stark's mind noticed the oddly colored dark blue blood spilling from the ruined helmet he'd just crushed. Tony's attention instantly snapped back to Tali, and as he looked at her laying on the deck, he could instantly tell she was hurt.

"Tali? Tali?!" Stark yelled, quickly reaching her and looking over the extent of her injuries.

_Oh god no... no no NO! What the hell do I do?!_

Terrified, Stark bent down to gently pick up the badly hurt girl in front of him, her dark blood already dripping to the deck, he could feel a panic attack starting to come on. A moment later there was a loud noise in his ears, pulling him out of his panicked state.

JARVIS' calm, reassuring voice filled Stark's helmet,_"Everything will be alright Tony, just breath. You can do this."_

_Okay... JARVIS is right, I can do this, just need to hold it together. She needs my help. I can fall apart later._

"JARVIS?! I need a route to this ship's med bay, now!"

JARVIS replied immediately, _"Accessing ship database, schematics found, displaying the fastest route now. I've opened all the hatches along your route Tony, you have a clear path to the sealed medical section."_

Tony engaged his thrusters, and a split-second later he was flying along the highlighted path JARVIS had projected on his helmet's HUD. After eight seconds of frantic flying at ridiculous speeds along narrow corridors and sharp intersections, Stark arrived at the decontamination airlock to the med bay. As the suit thrusters shut off, and Tony's boots clanged, falling the last fraction of an inch to the deck, JARVIS was already opening the outer hatch. Stark covered the small remaining distance at a brisk pace, as JARVIS sealed the tiny room and began the decontamination cycle.

After an agonizing 20 seconds, Stark yelled, "How much fucking longer Jarvis?!"

"_Just a few more seconds Tony, the first thing you'll need to do is grab a sterile vial of medi-gel, which should be on your left as you enter, I'll mark it on your HUD. Apply it it her wounds as quickly as possible. Next, your going to have to remove her suit so she can receive proper medical care. After that, Tali is going to need large injections of blood plasma and antibiotics. I will be able to handle the rest. Almost there, two seconds Tony..."_

Exactly two seconds later the decontamination cycle ended and, running through the open inner door, Stark was able to lay Tali down on one of the small bay's two medical beds. Snatching the nearest highlighted vial, he gently rubbed a large amount of the gel on each of the three obvious wounds he could see. Then, Stark took a moment to still his shaking hands, before starting to remove her sealed suit, beginning with her helmet. Stark glanced at her beautiful young face, even younger than he had guessed, before he rapidly removed the rest of her suit, with some advice from JARVIS on how to damage it as little as possible.

_Jesus... she's barely more than a teenager. You're gonna be okay kid, I promise._

With JARVIS giving him constant instructions, Stark quickly loaded two injection guns with blood plasma and antibiotics, gingerly injecting both into Tali's unwounded, exposed arm.

"_You may not want to stay for the next part Tony," _JARVIS quickly warned him, as he prepped the bay's automated surgical tools.

"I'm not leaving her, JARVIS. Just help her." Barely above a whisper he added, "...I don't want anyone else dying because of me."

Tony flinched, but didn't look away, as JARVIS began to operate on the young girl. He watched as JARVIS was able to repair several broken ribs, and the more severe internal injuries from the bullet wounds that the medi-gel hadn't dealt with. Not that he'd ever admit it to anyone, but Stark may have prayed to whoever would listen, asking them to give him a break just this one time.

After sightly less than an hour, as the last incision was being carefully sealed, Stark heard a contented sigh from JARVIS, _"She'll be alright Tony. I'm sure your getting Tali here so quickly had a lot to do with that. Thankfully, even in my less than professional 'hands' she will have little to no scarring."_

"Good work, JARVIS. At least she won't have any permanent damage." Tony walked over to a cabinet, grabbed a sterile blanket, and gently covered a still badly bruised Tali. Then, Stark just sat in the closest chair, and finding a spot on the floor particularly fascinating, quietly said, "Any _physical _damage anyway."

"_Tony, you had no way of-"_

A quietly seething Stark cut him off, "If it wasn't for me, this wouldn't have happened to her in the first place, JARVIS."

**September 2****nd**** 2183 **

**Six Hours Later - JARVIS POV **

JARVIS quietly watched Tony, who was desperately fighting to stay awake, as he kept his vigil over peacefully resting Tali in the med bay. His immense relief at having been able to save Tali was tempered by the information he had been able to gather, while waiting for his 'patient' to recover. Accessing the ship's systems, as well as the omni-tools of the two men that Tony had been forced to kill, it turned out they had been mercenaries, and he had discovered several unsettling things.

The first, rather gruesome, thing he had discovered was that the ship's crew had been killed in a horrible fashion. He found himself hesitant to share this information, especially with Tali. When she recovered, he would have to find a way to break it to her gently. It mildly disturbed JARVIS that he wished there had been at least one more mercenary on board the ship for him to deal with personally.

The second piece of information he'd been able to glean as the identity of the mercenaries' employer. He did this by comparing the voice in the audio files from one of the dead mercenaries' omni-tools to the data Tali had been able to save. One file had contained orders to search the planet that JARVIS and Tony had landed on for certain ancient artifacts. A second file held orders for the mercenaries to eliminate the Quarian and unknown intruders. Apparently, they were being hunted by one Saren Arterius, Council Spectre. This did not bode well at all for them, and JARVIS had already set the ship on a random course in an attempt to throw off any possible pursuit.

The last thing he had discovered was, by far, the most useful and terrifying. Digging further into the partially damaged data Tali had recovered from the Geth trooper, he had found that this Saren Arterius had control of an ancient and incredibly powerful dreadnought sized ship. Only it wasn't a ship per say, it seemed that the 'ship' was actually an AI of massive intelligence and extreme age. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to glean anymore information from the incomplete data.

As a frustrated JARVIS continued watching over the _Honorata_'s two inhabitants, he couldn't help worrying. At the very least, they were going to need protection in the immediate future so Tali could have a few days to fully recover from her ordeal. Despite whatever measures he could take, JARVIS had no doubt that someone with the resources of a Spectre would be able to find them in a very short amount time.

_How can I possibly protect them against forces like that? ... I'll have to think of something to ensure their safety, any other outcome is unacceptable. Time to ask a favor..._

Having made his decision, even if it was risky, JARVIS opened a comm link. It was time to call on a very old friend for help.

**Two Hours Later - Tony POV**

"Wake up Stark, there's something I need you to see. Wake. Up. Stark."

_That voice... there's something familiar about-_

Tony snapped awake instantly. There, right in front of him, was none other than Jack Harper, in holographic form. Behind his projection were three very real Cerberus thugs, who were wearing suspiciously similar armor to Stark's own Mark VII. The only major difference was that they were painted with Cerberus's ugly color scheme, instead of his far superior hot rod red, gold, and silver.

Stark bolted out of his seat and raised both his arms at them, only to discover he was no longer wearing his armor. His eyes flicked over to a still unconscious Tali, as one of the men aimed a repuslor at the defenseless Quarian.

Harper looked at one of his men and said, "If you'd be so kind, retrieve of the device from Stark."

The man nodded to Harper, and threw Stark against a wall with some kind of blue energy, before telling him, "If you want the Quarian to survive, I suggest you make this easy for me."

Then the man walked up to Stark, held out a blue glowing hand, and ripped the Arc reactor right out of Tony's chest. As Stark began to slowly slide down the wall and slump on the floor, the men started exiting the room.

His heart pounding in his chest, Tony wanted to rip Harper's face off as the man flashed a devilish grin at him, "One more thing... no witnesses, make sure Stark gets to watch."

As his grinning tormentor faded away, Tony watched in horror as the man raised his arm at Tali, and fired.

**Tali POV**

A terrible blood curdling scream jolted Tali awake as she clutched at her abdomen, shocked that she didn't appear to be badly wounded, or in much pain. A surge of fear spread through her as she pulled an arm out from under the blanket that covered her, and looked at bare skin.

_My... my suit! Where's my suit, what happened to me?! Oh Keelah! What happened to Breizh, Velisha, and_ _Stark? I have to make sure they're alright!_

As she wrapped the blanket around herself, Tali quickly realized she was in the med bay, and it only took her a moment to find the source of the scream. Stark, still in his full armor, was slumped against a wall moaning and speaking incoherently.

"_Hello Tali, it's wonderful to see your wake, but I'm afraid you need to put your envirosuit on and vacate the medical bay as quickly as possible. I believe Tony is having a rather bad nightmare, and I've been unable to wake him. He may prove to be... dangerous, while in his armor."_

Tali had never been so glad to hear the voice of an AI, which she'd never admit to JARVIS, of course. Tali looked at Stark, and then at the nearby pile of her suit components, and then looked back at Stark.

Scared to be without her suit longer than necessary, as well as worried about her crew mates, but determined to do the right thing, Tali said, "I'm not leaving him like this... how do I get his helmet off JARVIS? Maybe I can wake him up without it on."

A worried JARVIS told her, _"Tali... I wouldn't recommend that, you just went through a major surgery and even with the antibiotics in your system-"_

"I'm doing this with or without your help JARVIS"

A quiet sigh could be heard before he replied, _"I can unlock his helmet for you, but please proceed quickly, I don't want you to... I wouldn't want you to get seriously ill."_

"Thank you JARVIS, for everything, you and St- Tony saved me... helping you is the least I can do. I'm surprised Breizh and Velisha didn't at least offer Tony a bunk so he could get out of that armor... They don't know about you do they? That would probably end badly for all of us."

"_Tony wouldn't leave your side, and your friends... don't know about me."_

She slipped of the bed, and almost jumped at the odd sensation of the cold deck on her bare feet, then walked over to Stark, and knelt next to him. As she carefully removed Tony's helmet, Tali could see that the man looked like a mess. He was softly sobbing now, tears streaming down his cheeks, as she gently, hesitantly, placed a hand on his chest.

"It was nice of them to let him stay with me... Tony, wake up. You just need to wake up, you annoyingly heroic bosh'tet. Tony, it's okay-"

**(Music Ends)**

Stark rapidly opened his eye's, saw her hand on his chest, and immediately jerked away from Tali, as if terrified of being touched by her. She was a little surprised, even disappointed, that Stark seemed to be repulsed by her touch.

_I should have known better, almost everyone in the galaxy seems to dislike Quarians... or they openly hate us. Why would a human I just met be any different? Still... the man saved my life, and he needs my help right now. _

"Sorry... you were having a very bad dream and... I'm sorry if I bothered you.Are you alright? You seemed very upset." Tali tried her best to keep the hurt out of her voice.

Stark must have picked up on something though, as he replied, "Um... I'm fine, just a bit startled is all." He put on a big grin that Tali guessed was supposed to impress her, "It's not everyday I wake up in my armor, on the floor, with a cute girl on top of me. That's usually just on Tuesdays and Fridays."

JARVIS chimed in with, _"That is, sadly, fairly close to accurate Tali. Tony's never been... restrained... in certain aspects of life." _

"Why am I not surprised?" Tali stood up, as a now leering Stark began to get to his feet, and then made a small twirling motion with her hand towards him.

Still leering, Tony said, "Hmm? Sorry, never took alien sign language. What does that mean exactly?"

"Turn. Around. Stark. I'd like to get back into my suit. Now."

"Oh... sure thing. Don't worry, I won't look...", a grin still plastered on his lips, Stark made a big show of facing the wall, "...anymore than I already have that is."

"_Tony... be polite. And put your helmet back on, now."_

Tali almost smiled as Stark jumped, avoiding a halfhearted swipe from one of the sharper automated surgical tools. For once, he didn't bother complaining and had replaced his helmet in record time.

With a slight blush on her cheeks as she put her suit back on, Tali couldn't help grinning at Tony's flirt filled attempts to make her feel better. But the look in his eyes when she'd placed her hand near the glowing area on Stark's chest worried her. She had tried to be polite and cautious about the odd device when she first saw it. Since the man had obviously seen her naked, the thought of asking him about it now didn't feel quite so rude anymore.

Sealing her helmet in place, she walked back over and tapped Stark on the shoulder, "You can stop staring at the wall now." As he turned to face her, Tali decided to just ask him about it. "Tony... you looked, well you looked afraid, when I almost touched that." She pointed to the light in the center of his armored chest.

Tali could tell he was thinking about whether or not to tell her what it was, before he answered, "It's a power source, called an Arc reactor. It basically keeps me alive, so yeah I'm a little touchy about it sometimes.

_Wait, he needs that device just to stay alive? And he wakes up from a nightmare with me next to him, and my hand over his... oh Keelah! I hope he doesn't think that..._

"I'm sorry... I... I didn't know how important it is to you, besides I wasn't trying to hurt you... and... I'll just stop talking now."

Tali was two seconds away from covering her visor with her hands in embarrassment when Stark gently grabbed one of her wrists. Before she could say anything he pressed her hand to his chest.

With a confident look, her told her, "See, no big deal, I'm not going to keel over if you touch me. And for the record, I knew you wouldn't try to hurt me, you have got to be one of the most compassionate people I've ever met."

"I... That's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me, thank you." Tali could barely stop her fingers from wringing together, she disliked the nervous habit she'd developed.

They could almost hear the smile in JARVIS's voice as he said, _"If that's the case, then we shall have to endeavor to compliment you more often."_

"You really don't have to do that…" Tali trailed off, before Tony butted in.

"Now we _absolutely_ have to." Tony smirked at her further embarrassment.

"_Tony."_ JARVIS called out.

Tony asked with a sigh, "Yes, JARVIS?"

"_I need to speak to you in the shuttle's cockpit." _JARVIS promptly answered.

Tali perked up and started moving towards the airlock, asking, "What's wrong, JARVIS? Is it anything I could help with with? Let me at least talk with Breizh for you, have you asked him to set a course to the Citadel yet? We need to warn the Council as soon as possible!"

"Hey!" Tony firmly, but gently, grabbed her by the shoulders and slowly pushed her back towards one of the beds, "You're not going anywhere until you get more rest, Ms. Stupidly Selfless."

Tali watched, irritated, as Stark headed the airlock, and fumed as she sat on the edge of the bed.

_He's treating me like I'm a child! Besides, he's the stubborn one, he didn't even let me look at the wound on his leg yet... Oh Keelah, his leg! I'd bet a drive core he still hasn't let anyone look at it... _

"Wait, Stark your leg! You need to let me... or JARVIS, take care of it first!"

Tony just shrugged telling her, "I'll slap some more of that medi-jelly crap on it when I get to the shuttle."

Tali couldn't stop herself from letting out a frustrated sigh, as she imagined a giant smirk on Stark's face as the door sealed.

**Tony POV**

Tony begrudgingly vacated the med bay airlock, and trudged, limping, to the cockpit. Once he got inside and sat in the pilot's seat, he looked questioningly to the ceiling, as if JARVIS were floating up there.

"I'm waiting..."

"_Tony... I have some, fairly disturbing, things you need to know."_

As Tony calmly listened, JARVIS told him about all of the information the AI had been able to gather earlier while he had watched over Tali in the med bay. 'Fairly disturbing' was understating the crap out of the situation they now found themselves in.

It was the immediate problem that bothered Stark the most, "Damn. How the hell am I going to tell her what happened to her friends? She doesn't deserve any of this JARVIS."

"_No she doesn't... I'll handle it for you Tony. There's an incoming transmission for you, I think you'll want to take this call..."_

A crackle on the dashboard brought Tony's attention to a screen, now showing a familiar man that he had never expected to see again. The dark-skinned man's head was shown on the screen, his bald head reflecting a little light. A black eye-patch covered his left eye, as the man stared ahead. Wrinkles of old age accentuated his face, and an air of authority hung around him.

"Just who the hell is this supposed to be? JARVIS, I told you not to waste my time if you ever commed me... wait a minute... that armor..."

Tony decided to removed his helmet, just in case he wasn't going insane, and this was indeed really happening.

"Stark?" The man questioned, his eye widening slightly before he quickly regained his composure.

"Fury?!" Stark exclaimed, eyes widening as he leaned forwards in his seat.

"Goddamn, I wish I still looked as young as you!" Fury commented.

"Yeah, it's a long story…"

"I never would have guessed…" Fury muttered, cupping his right eye in his hand before leaning forwards.

_Nope, not crazy after all, that is definitely Nicholas fucking Fury... might as well make the best of it. _

"Well, at least I'm still here to keep you happy, Fury. I hate to see you bored." Stark replied.

"Oh joy…" Fury muttered again, before straightening up and un-cupping his right eye. "What can I do for you Stark?"

"Well for starters I could use some protection, I apparently have a Council Spectre who's going out of his way to have me killed. So my currently borrowed ride could definitely use an escort to the City Dell station, or whatever it is you call it. Oh, and a friend of mine is going to need medical observation for a while. Any ideas?"

Fury just stared at him for a solid three seconds, then sighed and told him, "It's called the Citadel, Stark... There is one ship headed there that's nearby, but I'll have to call an old friend…"

Curious, Tony asked, "Another one? I doubt their half as awesome a friend as I am... Who?"

"A man named David Anderson."

**Med Bay – JARVIS POV**

JARVIS barely focused on Tony's conversation with Fury, he was fully confident that Fury would find some way to assist them. What he wasn't confident in, was his ability to deliver horrible news to a young girl who, most likely, barely trusted him as it was. He must have ran thousands of simulations on how best to tell Tali, as he quietly fumed at the cruel nature of life.

_How does one properly tell someone that she will never see her friends again? That she wont even be able to give them a proper Quarian mourning ceremony, because of the way in which those heartless bast- those thugs disposed of their bodies? _

Unfortunately for JARVIS, his ability to continue stalling the inevitable came to an abrupt halt when Tali suddenly sat up and got off the bed.

"This is just silly... I'm leaving JARVIS. If he comes back, tell Stark I went to check on Breizh and Velisha. I'm not going to lay around here like some lazy bosh'tet, when they probably could use some help with repairs." 

JARVIS watched as Tali started walking to the airlock, and could barely force himself to begin speaking before it was too late.

"_Tali... there's something I have to tell you."_

**Archer83 A/N: Hello, I hope you all liked this chapter! If any of you are wondering why it didn't just dawn on Tali that her fellow crew might dead right away, that's actually very simple to explain. Sometimes a person believes what they WANT to believe. Deep down, Tali probably realized they were gone from the moment she woke up, but that doesn't mean she wanted to believe it...**

**A/N: Hey guys, Envirosuit here. As much as we authors enjoy writing this story, we're finding ourselves needing more authors. Please PM any of us if you wish to apply! On another note, on my own stories, which I'm sure nobody here reads anyway, I may not update much due to current commitments. Enjoy the story!**

**Captiosus' A/N: Not much to say here really. The only real big thing going on is that I am starting a new crossover called Protoshock. Go check it out!**


	7. Welcome to the Normandy

Displaced Hero

By: Archer83 (Author, Brainstorming), Captiosus (Beta, Brainstorming, Posting), Envirosuit (Co-author, Brainstorming), Vergil1989 the Crossover King (Co-author, Brainstorming), and whiteraven1606 (Co-author, Brainstorming)

Inspired By: DN7

**Summary:** In a desperate attempt to save his life, after narrowly destroying an alien incursion, Tony Stark is forced to use untested technology... placing his body in stasis until a cure can be found. Stark wakes far into the future finding a vastly different world... one which he will change forever.

**The Displaced Hero team would like to introduce our newest member, Vergil1989 the Crossover King. (A quick look at Vergil's profile will show you that he lives up to his pen name!) **

_A/N For some reason, both Envirosuit and Archer83 seem to think I've got a shot at working with them, whiteraven1606, and Captiosus on this story they've put together thus far so here's my addition to the party. Hope I don't screw this up too badly lol. __Anyway, hope you guys and gals enjoy this new chapter. ;D_

**Inspirational music includes but is not limited to the following…**

Carry on My Wayward Son by Kansas.

Oh Death by Jen Titus.

Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin.

Sadness and Sorrow by Naruto

(Can anyone tell that I'm a Supernatural fan yet? :P)

Also, the usual text cues apply.

"Speech."

_Thought_

_"AI speech/radio transmission."_

**Chapter 7**

**September 2nd 2183**

**Med Bay, Quarian Scout Ship **_**Honorata**_ **- JARVIS POV**

**(Begin Music Now)**

_"You might want to sit down Tali. This….isn't going to be easy to hear." _He could only do so much, especially against such a talented engineer as Tali'Zorah as he locked the door out of the med bay as an extra precautionary measure. It didn't go unnoticed by the Quarian woman as he saw her jerk her gaze towards the locking door in front of her.

He didn't have to hear her tone of voice to know that locking her inside the med bay probably wasn't the best idea, but he was worried about Tony as much as he was about Tali herself. "Let me out JARVIS. What happened to my friends? What happened to Breizh and Velisha?" The AI wanted nothing more than to be somewhere, anywhere but here as he spoke once more, while he pulled up some of the less disturbing images he had been able to put together on her omni-tool as proof of what he was about to tell her.

Even then…it wasn't enough to cushion the blow he was about to deliver. It wasn't even close. _"The mercenaries that attacked us…killed them Tali." _Tali had stopped cold as she prepared to hack her way through the door, just as he thought she might. JARVIS had ran enough simulations and had seen over his long existence many examples of sentient beings going through grief of all sorts, but he had luckily never been the one on the receiving end of what was surely about to follow.

Even he, a machine created intelligence that had the capacity for human thought, albeit at a speed only a computer as sophisticated as his own could hope to match, had long ago developed emotions and Tali's denial, while expected, still hurt as if her words were daggers aimed at his own 'heart'. "You're lying…you're lying! They will be waiting out there, probably in their bunks or even in engineering…or… No, they are not dead."

_"They were pushed out of an airlock after…Velisha was brutalized…Tali. I cannot begin to express how deeply sorry I am for your loss, but I would never lie about something like this." _Tali ignored him however, even as he showed her the video feed of a suitless Velisha as she and Breizh were pushed into an airlock, and fired out a moment later into the cold vacuum of space surrounding the ship. She wasn't getting anywhere with the door however, since without even having to see past her visor, JARVIS could hear her heart wrenching sobs and see the way her entire body shook from her grief.

"You're a machine! An AI! You can't possibly know what I feel!" Tali shouted back, beyond hysterical as she, by some perverse twist of fate, got the door open despite the fact her vision must have been blurry from her tears and her hands had been shaking terribly. "I am going to find them, or I'm going to personally tear you out of this ship piece by piece if I don't! If I have to go through Stark…."

She didn't have to finish the threat as JARVIS did everything he could to slow her down while sending a message to Tony. He needed to be ready for a very dangerous and very emotional Quarian. As he was sending the message to possibly his only friend within a hundred thousand light-years, JARVIS tried once more to get through to Tali.

_"I understand all too well Tali. I truly do. I've had to bury friends, a long time ago now. Seeing them pass on, even though most of them had lived mostly long and fulfilling lives, awakened in me the emotions I now possess. Please, I know this isn't easy to bear but do not do anything rash."_

He was mostly ignored, but she had stopped to listen to him for a moment before shorting out the public address system. It 'hurt' in a sense since he had become a part of the _Honorata, _but JARVIS didn't react save to slam another door in her face in any effort to slow her down. It wouldn't hold her for long though…

**Tony POV**

Stark noticed Fury impatiently watching as he started to get out of his armor. Since he had been under a slight deadline, emphasis on the dead part, to design this new armor quickly, comfort wasn't quite at the top of his list at the time. Tony deliberately took his time getting the last pieces off, just to irritate the man further.

"David Anderson. Never heard of him Ol Saint Nick." Tony retorted, probably making Fury wonder why he had ever considered hiring the man as an adviser for SHIELD in the first place as he shook his head at the tech head's quick mouth.

"You wouldn't have, since you were a frozen Popsicle for the better part of a century Stark. How was it by the way?" He wasn't the only one with a quick mouth.

"Considering I was a Cerberus pet before I got out, it wasn't that bad. The service sucked, but at least they had plenty of toys." Fury rolled his one good eye and shook his head again. Still, despite the way they were taking verbal shots at each other, it was good to see one of his old... acquaintances... back in the game. Fury highly doubted that many people could've called Stark a friend before his forced stasis, and probably none now.

"Getting back on track, Captain David Anderson is a highly decorated officer of the System Alliance Navy. The man could melt down every medal he's ever gotten and probably make a life sized statue of himself. His XO, Lt Commander Rebecca Shepard is his personal protégé, not to mention a survivor the worst the galaxy could hope to throw at her, and one mean Adept to boot. Piss her off, and it's likely your ass." Tony chortled at that, having a feeling things were going to be real interesting if Shepard was half the woman Fury made her out to be.

"So basically she's someone that won't take to me very well then, I like her already. I think I remember a reporter in the old days like that." Tony replied, earning an exasperated sigh from Nick for his trouble.

"It's your head Stark; I'm just the messenger this time. Hold on a sec, just got a reply back from Anderson. It's done Stark, Captain Anderson has agreed to detour his ship, the SSV Normandy, in order to escort you safely to the Citadel."

Tony absentmindedly tapped at the reactor casing in his chest. "Normandy huh? Good to see that we still name ships after horribly bloody battles." Before Fury could respond to Stark's sarcastic remark, he continued. "I hope you're right about this Anderson guy, Fury. I figure, including you, there's maybe three people I can trust at all in this fucked up future you call the present."

"I'd trust David Anderson with my life, and you're going to have to as well Stark." Fury paused for a moment and touched a holographic display screen in front of him. "I'm sending you rendezvous coordinates now Stark, the Normandy is already altering course to meet up with you ASAP."

Never one for polite conversation, Stark decided to switch topics. "I gotta tell you Fury, really nice job you've done with SHIELD, or should I say Cerberus, after all these years. It totally hasn't turned into a group of thugs, run by psychotic asshole. I even got to stay at one of their deluxe accommodations recently, sadly it had an unfortunate accident when I left." Tony was mildly shocked that his barb caused Fury to express a very rare emotion, guilt. Stark could probably count on one hand the number of times he had seen any real emotion out of the man.

"I had heard rumors over the last few years that Cerberus was ransacking old bases, acquiring technology from the old SHIELD days. I didn't understand they why'd be interested in any of that antiquated tech at the time. But then JARVIS commed me out of the blue today, and explained your current situation. I can't say I truly believed any of it until I saw you were still alive Stark."

Stark couldn't stop himself from smirking. "I guess I'm just a pain in the ass like that, inconveniently coming back from the dead and all."

The guilt seemed to deepen on Fury's face. "I... regret... not being in a position to offer you more assistance Stark. As a matter of fact, I regret a shit load of things to be honest. Chief among them, is the horrible abomination I ended up letting SHIELD turn into over the years. The Cerberus of today is now no different from the terrorists SHIELD used to be charged with fighting in the first place." Fury looked away from the screen's camera for a moment. "The road to hell, as they say, is paved with good intentions. It seems my good intentions have finally caught up with me."

Tony frowned, leaning towards his screen. "Fury, how the fuck did a psycho like Harper get control of a group like Cerberus in the first place?" Before either of them could reply, JARVIS interrupted them.

_"I'm sorry to intrude but Tony, Tali is on the war path and she's heading right to you. She's hysterical…" _JARVIS didn't get a chance to finish as the door to the cockpit opened and revealed a very distressed Quarian with a gun pointed at Tony's head.

"Yeah…I can see that." Despite the fact he had Tali's pistol pointed at his unprotected head, Tony could somehow tell that as upset and angry as she was, she wouldn't fire. "I take it JARVIS told you…" There was none of the usual humor in Tony's voice as he slowly stood, Tali's gun hand shaking as she could only nod in answer to his question. "I trust this new version of JARVIS enough to know he tried to break it to you as gently as possible, but I can understand how it would never be enough. I've lost friends before…Tali, too many to damn count and it never gets easier."

"Don't…just don't." Tali managed to choke out around the lump in her throat as Tony slowly, but surely, put a hand over the pistol and gently pulled it from her limp hand before pulling her into his chest. "Keelah…."

Pepper had been in a similar state once or twice after the whole war with beings from another dimension with wannabe conqueror named Loki leading the charge, more or less. She had never pulled a gun on him but she, like everyone else during that brief but bloody war, had lost friends, loved ones, and allies alike. Tony had lost a few friends as well, when he had first become Iron Man and beyond, so he knew what Tali was going through. He had spoken the truth when he had said it never got easier.

Having since tossed the gun aside, Tony wrapped his arms around the slender framed Quarian and let her sob her heart out. He said nothing, since what could he possibly say to make this better?! Nick thankfully didn't say anything either to them directly as JARVIS took over the conversation in his place, while he let Tali find at least some comfort in having a friend so close at hand.

_A friend? You're getting soft Tony. _Obadiah's voice echoed in his head but Tony ignored it. He was one man he had been somewhat happy to see dead and buried considering ol Obie had ripped his 'heart' out, literally. Materialistic, warmongering bastard that he had been, before his eventual betrayal, Tony had considered him one of the few actual friends he allowed himself.

James "Rhodey" Rhodes, a.k.a, War Machine, had been his closest friend and ally, having helped him put down Whiplash way back when, among other threats along the way before Tony had had to freeze himself over to save his own hide. Damn how he wished that Rhodey was here now. Hell, he wished any of the people he always seemed to take for granted were here, but save for Fury, it seemed he was on his own now.

Sighing as he finally felt Tali start to calm down, Tony dragged himself out of his own depressing thoughts and was about to let her go until his right hand came across something wet. Pulling it away, he saw blood sweeping from a still damaged of her suit and immediately knew that at some point she had tore open one of her freshly sealed wounds. "Crap…."

_"I see it too Tony. Nick, get the Normandy here as soon as you can, we'll meet them halfway if we have to, but Tali needs medical attention that neither of us are able to provide because the ship's med bay isn't sterile any longer." _JARVIS had since turned the ship about, having gotten the Normandy's location and likely approach vectors from Fury's data he had sent to them once Anderson had agreed to meet them at all.

"Is it…bad?" Tali asked weakly and Tony managed to shake his head, already putting pressure to the wound although it would likely only delay her bleeding out if nothing was done soon.

"Nah…just a flesh wound. You'll be up and about in no time. You just rest and stay with it you hear? Who else am I gonna flirt with on this rust bucket?" Tony chuckled weakly at his own humor as he helped Tali to the floor of the cockpit, his back to the wall while he let her rest against him in turn. He never once let go of her side the entire time.

"You're…a bad liar, you know that…you stupid bosh'tet?" Tali managed a weak chuckle of her own, still greatly upset over the loss of her friends but she had other concerns now, such as staying alive until and if helped arrived.

"I've heard that mentioned once or twice." Tony was damned determined not to lose another friend if he could help it. His own leg be damned, he was far more concerned in keeping Tali alive.

"Stark, the Normandy will be there within the hour, sooner if they push their engines and risk their stealth systems. Whatever our differences in the past, you've grown in the time you've been active again." Nick finally said, having noted his admiralable qualities in diffusing a very distraught, and at the time potentially dangerous, young Quarian that had gotten the drop on him. "Tali, I plan to use whatever resources I have to bring anyone associated with those mercenaries down, including Saren Arterius. If you're not against working with Mr. Stark and his AI butler, I think your safest bet would be to assist the crew of the Normandy since they plan to take that bastard down."

_"I do hate it when you call me that Nick." _JARVIS replied, earning a weak laugh from Tali which turned into coughs. He had little doubt that behind her visor she had likely coughed up blood, but there was little they could do about it now.

"I'm…sorry I tried to kill you…Tony, and…JARVIS. If it means justice for my fallen friends and ensuring no one else has to die, then yes….I'll join the crew of the Normandy, if they'll have me of course." Tali replied between weak coughs, hoping that she'd make it that far at all at this point.

"Ah, no big deal you wouldn't be the first Tali, I'm sure you won't be the last." Tony was quick to say, but he had yet to regain his sense of humor due to the dire circumstances he was stuck in without any means to fix it in the least. Being powerless and at the mercy of events or people he didn't trust was not his idea of a good time.

_"You were, or still are I should say, greatly upset and I too do not require an apology Tali. Just rest and save your strength." _Tali could only nod as JARVIS tried everything he could think of that wouldn't put his two passengers in harm's way to make the _Honorata _go faster, but short of growing a body, he couldn't do much more than bypass computer failsafes which were needed to regulate the drive core as well as other critical systems. Anything he could do, he did do as long as it didn't end up blowing up in their faces.

Needless to say, it was the longest hour of Tony's 'sorta' long life.

**Med Bay, Alliance Frigate SSV Normandy – Lt. Com. Rebecca Shepard POV**

**Twenty-nine Minutes Later**

Lieutenant Commander Rebecca Shepard jolted awake with the worst skull splitting headache she'd had in her entire life. Joker's voice blaring over the ship wide address system certainly wasn't helping to calm her throbbing head as she quickly opened her eyes, attempting to shrug off the intense disorientation she felt.

"Doctor! Doctor Chakwas, I think she's waking up."

Shepard sat up to see a worried Kaiden Alenko watching her as Chakwas walked over to her bedside, instantly looking her over. "You had us worried there Shepard. How are you feeling?"

Shepard couldn't help wincing as she answered the doctor. "**Like **the morning **after shore leave. How long was I-**" She suddenly remembered what had jarred her awake in the first place and turned to look at Kaiden. "Wait. What's going on Lt.?I thought I heard Joker mention something about needing security and medical teams."

Alenko looked relieved to be of some use. "Nothing to worry about Commander, Captain Anderson altered course while you were out so we could lend assistance to another ship."

"From the sound of it, they have a Quarian who needs specialized medical help and hopefully we'll have arrived in time to see that she gets it." Shepard turned back to focus on Chakwas, noticing a small isolation unit that the doctor had prepped nearby.

Shepard instantly started getting to her feet. "The Captain could probably use my help up there." Chakwas moved to intercept her, a deep frown on the older woman's face. "Don't even bother Doctor, I'm going. I promise I'll let you check me over as soon as this is taken care of, deal?"

Her offer seemed to appease the concerned doctor, for the moment at least. As Shepard started heading for the door, a smirk graced her face as she noticed the conversation behind her.

A near scowling Chakwas motioned to Kaiden. "Lt. Alenko I am personally holding you accountable for the Commander's well being."

Kaiden snapped off a salute, "Yes ma'am!", before nearly running into the medical equipment behind him.

Shepard almost cracked a smile as Kaiden ran after her. She didn't blame him for being weary of Doctor Chakwas' wrath, the usually kind woman could make Captain Anderson flinch on occasion. Seeing her make Kaiden squirm wasn't too surprising.

She quickly jogged up the stairs to the CIC, Alenko right behind her, when a few seconds later Chakwas and a small squad of marines joined them next to Captain Anderson near the airlock. As it opened Shepard could tell the situation was even worse than she thought.

An exhausted, haggard looking man stumbled through the airlock, carrying an obviously hurt Quarian female. Before she even thought about it, Shepard was already helping to lift the girl on to a gurney when the young girl grasped onto her arm in desperation.

"Hey... you're going to be alright." Shepard tried to give off a calm appearance for the wounded girl. "What's your name?"

"Her name's Tali'Zorah, now can we get a fucking move on here or are we going to chit chat?!" The man's loud outburst told Shepard he was even more worried than he looked.

"Considering we just pulled your asses out of the fire pal, you could be a little more appreciative." Leave it to Joker to make a bad situation worse, the guy looked like he wanted to rip the pilot apart with his bare hands.

Anderson frowned at Joker, then looked back at the distressed man in front of him. "I suggest you calm down son, I assure you we're going to do everything we can to help her."

Chakwas only took another moment to secure the patient as two of the marine guards moved forward to escort the man. Seeing the anger and fear in his eye's, Shepard waved them off and let the man help them carry the gurney down to the crew deck.

"Take care of this Commander, I need to speak with Joker about his mouth." She quickly nodded to the Captain as he returned to the CIC.

After they got the Quarian girl to the med bay and Chakwas started prepping for surgery, Shepard had to practically drag the man out of the room so the doctor could begin her work. As she forced him to take a seat, and shoved a bad cup of coffee in his face, his eye's never left the med bay observation window.

With a disgusted, but most worried expression he snarked at her."Couldn't help noticing your medical professional had a bottle of brandy available to her in there. I sincerely hope that elderly booze hound you call a doctor knows what the hell she's doing."

Shepard would normally rip him a new asshole for that comment against the compassionate doctor, but she could see how terrified he was for the hurt Quarian girl. Carefully approaching the obviously upset man Shepard took the opportunity to try and calm him down, as well as introduce herself. "Don't worry... Doctor Chakwas is one the best surgeons I've ever served with. Your friend is in good hands, I promise. I'm the ship's XO by the way, you can call me Shepard. Mind telling me your name at least?"

Shepard stuck out her hand and was annoyed when the man didn't move to shake it, simply muttering at her instead. "Whatever, my name's Stark. Now would you kindly back the fuck off for five minutes?"

_A/N Not exactly how I'd have ended this chapter but overall I say the others did a good job. :D As Archer said over the chat earlier, 2/3 of this is my own so it wouldn't be fair to say I did the whole thing lol. Joking aside, I hope you lot enjoy the latest addition to this story. Adios!_

_This is the Crossover King, signing off!_


	8. So you're Iron Man?

By: Archer83 (Author, Brainstorming), Captiosus (Beta, Brainstorming, Posting), Envirosuit (Co-author, Brainstorming), Vergil1989the Crossover King(Co-author, Brainstorming), and whiteraven1606 (Co-author, Brainstorming)****

Inspired By: DN7 ****

**Summary:**In a desperate attempt to save his life, after narrowly destroying an alien incursion, Tony Stark is forced to use untested technology... placing his body in stasis until a cure can be found. Stark wakes far into the future finding a vastly different world... one which he will change forever.****

**"**Speech"**  
**_Thought_**  
****"**_AI Speech/Radio transmission"_****

**Chapter 8******

**September 2nd 2183******

**Crew Deck, Alliance Frigate SSV Normandy – Tony and Rebecca's POV******

Tony would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous when the sudden appearance of a blue glow seemed to surround the woman he had just irritated. That said, he wasn't about to apologize to her anytime soon. That wouldn't be his style after all. "Yeah... so you can glow blue. I'm terrified."****

**"**_You'll have to forgive Tony, he can be quite the handful even in the best of times."_JARVIS audibly sighed, having made a communication connection to the _Normandy _from the _Honorata_, much to Joker's annoyance which was quickly followed by abject surprise, as he realized they were being hacked.****

Joker's worried voice rang throughout the _Normandy_. "Captain Anderson, something is hacking into our systems!"****

**"**Oh sorry, that's just my annoying A.I./former butler, JARVIS. And JARVIS, I thought we agreed you'd keep a low profile?" Tony rolled his eyes since he could practically feel Jarvis's metaphorical eyes on him, doing about the same thing he had just done given his recent personality upgrade. Well, recent to him anyway.****

**"**_That was before you decided to be an idiot and provoke one of our potential allies into ripping you a new orifice. Sir."_****

**"**Stark...you have ten seconds to give us back full control of this ship or I swear to God..." Shepard looked like she was about to have a stroke. She didn't like not being in control and this was about as far out there as she'd been in a long time. Even so, she wasn't about to toss anyone anywhere, especially with a critically wounded quarian onboard, but she wasn't above using it as a potential means of control either. _Christ, I hope he doesn't realize I'm bluffing._****

**"**Your friend isn't going to last long without our help... will she?" Stark knew a threat when he heard one. Crossing his arms over his chest, Tony gave Rebecca a death glare he had used only on one other person before, whom had had an unfortunate accident with the arc reactor set up at Stark Industries before Tony had officially announced that he was Iron Man.****

**"**JARVIS... stop whatever you're doing. I get the feeling these people aren't happy with you tinkering onboard the ship."****

Shepard seemed to realize what Stark had actually said, her emerald green eyes opening wide in shock as she put the pieces together. She had every reason to be shocked since Artificial Intelligences were illegal for very good reasons, and all the proof she needed was in the medical bay. "Wait... that _thing _isan A.I.?! What the hell have you unleashed onto this ship?!"****

**"**An excellent chess player and very good listener?" It was clear that she was very close to losing her head as a blood vessel became quite pronounced above her right eye. "Don't you blow a gasket on me, JARVIS is actually a very old and very dear friend of mine, so before you have a stroke, know that I wouldn't let him anywhere near me or your crew if I didn't trust him. He's the only person I CAN trust anymore." Tony had lost all trace of his normally cheeky attitude since he truly did feel as strongly as he had sounded to Shepard when he had talked about JARVIS.****

**"**_If I may speak for myself Tony, I would like to assure the entire crew of the Normandy that I wish you no harm in the __slightest. I was merely seeking help for my friends. However, I can understand why you would be afraid of me, and I shall cease causing any interference immediately." _JARVIS immediately fell silent and whatever system errors had been detected went with him at the exact same time.****

Shepard looked around warily anyway, as if she expected the air to be sucked out of the ship at any moment. ****

**"**You can stop worrying Shepard, JARVIS is not in the Normandy's systems since you so rudely chased him away." Tony retorted, smirking despite himself as he watched Rebecca look around worriedly, still obviously expecting the 'rogue A.I.' to start screwing with the critical systems or something similar at any moment.****

**"**You allowed an illegal A.I. to hack this ship... Do you really expect me..." Shepard began but Tony interrupted, still giving her his patented death glare for her troubles.****

**"**I expect nothing from an obvious grunt like yourself. I've known a few and believe me, it didn't go over well. They follow orders and rarely think for themselves in most cases, kind of like what you're doing now by chance. Besides, if you did some homework on me, you'd find that I wasn't always such a nice guy." ****

**"**As opposed to how you're acting right now?" She snapped right back with an equal amount of fire to her eyes which made even Tony a little nervous, and that wasn't easy to do, especially given his track record against his era's version of super 'villains'. He used the word loosely but that wasn't important at the moment.****

**"**Commander! What the bloody hell just happened to our comm systems?!" Anderson bellowed as he entered the crew area. Shepard couldn't help but let herself stand straight as a pole, her angry stance disappearing in a flash as she stood at rigid attention. Her hands fell to her sides and she looked straight ahead, although she still let her eyes fall only on Tony since she wasn't about to look elsewhere, even with her superior glaring daggers at her.****

**"**It seems that our 'guest', who I recommend becomes a 'guest' in our brig, has let an A.I. loose on the ship, sir." She said through clenched teeth, making Tony chuckle since he so badly wanted to blast her out of an airlock.****

**"**You must be Nick's old friend. Tony Stark, playboy, billionaire, Iron Man? Any of these ring a bell?" Tony was quick as ever and Captain Anderson knew that things were about to get real interesting on the _Normandy _with the way his second and Tony were giving each other death glares.****

**"**Sir?! You mean this ass- this person knows Admiral Fury?" Shepard could barely keep her jaw from dropping to the deck. Admiral Nick Fury was a living legend, to say the least. He had pulled their asses out of the fire during the Blitz after all, and even though he was a harder man to deal with than most, he obviously cared for those under his command, an impression she had gotten when she had came out of Elysium a hero.****

**"**Yup, this ass is very well connected, honey bunch. Looks like yours is too." Stark took the just barely noticeable twitch in Shepard's right eye to mean that he just might have crossed the line this time. It was probably a good thing that he didn't know she could turn him into a fine paste at any moment with just a wave of her hand.****

Anderson had the good sense to separate the two of them before their was a new Stark-sized dent in one of the crew deck bulkheads. "If I might interrupt here. This man is, or was the owner of one of the biggest weapons production companies in our history, but he had an attack of conscious when he saw troops killed by the same weapons he had built. Personally in my books, he's a damn hero since how many people can you name that had the life he did ever try to redeem themselves, Commander?"****

**"**Why I am I not surprised that this man got good people killed? Sir." The harsh look on Shepard's face softened slightly. "But, if what you say is true sir then I have to admit, not many at all."****

**"**Well, I got tired of being a completely selfish narcissistic asshole who sold weapons. At least I got rid of the selling weapons part." Tony was quick to reply when he had a chance, a little put off that they had started talking about him as if he wasn't even there. "Besides, when those good men and women died, I was captured and I didn't get out of that desert unmarked." Stark tapped his chest, as if to make a point. The sound of his finger tapping against something metallic was audible to both people, which made Rebecca quite curious to see what was under his shirt.****

Shepard subconsciously moved a bit closer to try and get a look at what it might be, but instantly stopped when Stark flinched at her approach. The fear she saw in his eyes wasn't a very subtle hint either. _Something awful happened to this man, I'd bet my life on it._His brief summary didn't leave much to go on, but it gave a couple of ideas none the less.****

**"**Mr. Stark I just want to say..." Shepard began but didn't get to finish as Tony held up a hand. He didn't need an apology since he had brought most of this on himself anyway.****

Stark saw something in this woman's eyes that was worse than the anger he had seen moments earlier though. Pity. That was one thing he could do without since he had put to bed most of his old demons long ago. "I made it my life's work after ending so many others to protect the same people I put in harm's way with my carelessness and selfish behavior. Save your pity for someone that needs it, wants it, or deserves it."****

**"**Alright then, I can respect that Stark." Shepard nodded and gave him a knowing look. "You're not the only one with a past, let's leave it at that for now." Considering she was a survivor of Mindoir, she could understand where he was coming from in not wanting any pity since she was the same way, in a sense.****

**"**Awesome plan... how's Selfless doing by the way?" Tony made an exaggerated motion towards the med bay and the injured young woman therein. "Could I talk to her soon?" He wasn't about to admit he was worried about her or anything, but he probably didn't have to to Rebecca Shepard since Tony got the feeling she was good at reading people.****

Shepard felt more like using the man as a human punching bag right then, but instead she quickly used her omni-tool to comm Doctor Chakwas. "Doctor, how's your patient doing?" Any distraction was better than making herself look like a total rank amatuer in front of her commanding officer by punching Iron Man in the face...as much as she wanted to.****

The calm voice of the Normandy's resident CMO responded from the device on her forearm. "I'm nearly finished Commander, she will have a full recovery, thankfully. Also...did anyone else hear a strange British sounding voice a few moments ago? I found it very odd-"****

**"**Everything's fine Chakwas, good job Doc." Shepard quickly cut the Doctor off, so as not to worry her about the crew or her patient. Turning back to Stark and Anderson, she continued. "So what's our plan for him, sir?" She was hoping he'd let her push Tony out the nearest airlock, or at the very least keel haul him, but she doubted that was going to happen, especially if Nick Fury was a part of this mess.****

**"**Hey! Still waiting over here! Can I talk to her for a minute or not?!" Stark was more impatient than ever.****

**"**Shut up Stark, can't you see we're trying to decide whether or not to keel haul your ass?" Rebecca snapped before she could stop herself. "Did I just say that out loud?" She literally face palmed herself as the realization sunk in she had said that out loud, in front of her commanding officer no less.****

A giant smirk started to appear on Stark's face at the slight blush on Shepard's cheeks. When he saw the murderous glare directed at him, it died upon arrival. _Wow... she's certainly going to be fun to be around. Maybe I should lay off the smartass routine a bit, and just focus on keeping my head attached to my shoulders. _Yes, that sounded like a much better plan than getting into a fight without his armor on.****

Stark was distracted from his thoughts as Chakwas excited the med bay and gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Your friend is going to be fine, if you wish, you can talk with her for a few minutes." A more stern expression appeared on the woman's face before Stark could even complain about her touching him. "But...you will NOT agitate her in any way. Do I make myself clear Mr..."****

**"**Stark, Tony Stark. By the way, anything you want from me in the future, it's yours. I... I don't exactly have many friends, and you just saved one of the few I do have." The sincerity in his voice wasn't easy to miss by anyone, but it still made Shepard raise an eyebrow questioningly at Stark all the same since she hadn't expected anything of the sort to come out of his mouth.****

Chakwas' stern expression faded away. "Don't worry about repaying me Mr. Stark, just be there for the young woman in my med bay. It's going to take a few days for her to recover fully from her injuries. I'm sure she can use any support she can get right now." ****

Stark gave her a grateful nod before getting up from the table. He rapidly walked over to the medical section but found himself slowing down the closer he got to Tali's small isolation unit. _She's going to hate me because of all this... at least I didn't get her killed, like everyone else._****

Tony distracted himself from his rather morbid thoughts by dragging over a chair and sitting as close to the quarian girl as possible. "Hey there beautiful, miss me much?" It took all of Stark's willpower to keep that shit-eating grin on his face, when all he wanted to do was beg the girl in front of him to forgive him for everything he had put her through.****

Tali looked over at Tony and couldn't suppress a weak laugh of relief from escaping her visored head. "Stupid bosh'tet...of course I did." She replied, although he had to strain to hear her since she sounded pretty out of it. Not to mention but she had just came out of extensive surgery, so it was reasonable to assume she had to be pretty tired as well.****

**"**Oh good, I see they put you on the good drugs." Before he even thought about it, Stark had already placed his hand on the clear material separating them near where her hand was laying. ****

**"**Ha! You like me... I knew you did, always being such a stubborn bosh'tet and rude to me, but I always knew.." Tali almost giggled at him in her drug assisted haze. He knew all about that since he had been injured a few times himself. Said injuries had been severe enough those few times that he had needed some of those same heavy duty pain killers, and then there was the palladium poisoning which he had resorted to heavy drinking to subdue. He chalked up her current comments to her drug induced haze and nothing more.****

**"**Just take it easy Tali, it's the drugs talking, trust me." Stark could barely keep himself from smiling as Tali waved him off.****

**"**You don't have to hide your feelings you big silly good-hearted moron. You're a good stupid bosh'tet, you know that right?" Tali asked, hoping to break through Tony's thick head but she'd have to try harder it seemed as he brushed her off again.****

Stark smirked at her boundless determination. "Uh huh... Alright you caught me I... I do care about you Tali. Just get some sleep, I'll be here when you wake up, I promise." It surprised him a little to realize he meant it.****

**"**Alright, I am just a little bit sleepy, hehe. I suppose a tiny nap would be a good idea, but you better be here bosh'tet!" Tali tried to be intimidating, but she came off more as cute in Tony's not so humble opinion.****

Stark smiled even wider and made a big show of settling in next to her isolated bed. " See, I'm not going anywhere. Now close your eyes and get some rest Ms. Selflessness, or I'll sic the doc on you." He tried to make it sound like a threat, but Tony realized he came off as a big ol softie instead, and he didn't necessarily mind either.****

**"**You can't order me around, Mr. Big Shot Stubborn Person." Tali quietly whispered as she closed her eyes and started to drift off to sleep.****

Sitting there, it suddenly occurred to Stark that he actually felt something he had almost never felt in his entire life, contentment. All was right with the world as long as he could at least keep this one girl safe. He was mildly surprised that the crew left him alone for the most part. Aside from Chakwas demanding that he eat something warm and try to get some rest himself, they basically let him be for the next several hours.****

Then things got interesting when he woke up and found that Captain Anderson and Shepard wanted a word with him, mostly in regards to the 'cargo' he had had asked be brought over from the _Honorata_. His Iron Man armor wasn't exactly easy to miss and as it stood then, they didn't have any good place to put it, so it had wound up stood up against the far wall of the cargo bay, by the workbench kept by the Chief.**  
**.**  
**There was one slightly tense moment when one of the _Normandy's _techs had tried to get a closer look at the armor, which started speaking to him. **"**_Please do not touch the armor or attempt to damage it in any way. The consequences would be...unfortunate and most unpleasant."_Suffice to say, no one wanted to go near it after that. That was probably just as well.****

Stark had been taken, under guard, with Shepard to reassure her and the Captain that there would be no more surprises from any equipment they transferred to the ship. He let the techs work over anything they did bring over from the _Honorata _which was currently being pulled behind the _Normandy, _Tony having made it abundantly clear that he wasn't about to budge if they didn't make the effort to bring the quarian scout ship with them. He wanted to give Tali some closure if nothing else, and besides, she'd know what was best done with the ship better than anyone since it was a quarian vessel after all. He owed her that much for getting her friends killed.****

**"**Alright, and you better be honest with me Stark... does any of this equipment pose a danger to the _Normandy?" _Shepard's icy glare told Stark this was not a woman to lie to. Tony didn't bother to acknowledge her, having a feeling that JARVIS would answer the question since he had been ever so annoying like that in the past. It turned out some things hadn't changed in the least as Rebecca found her omni-tool had been hacked this time.****

**"**_Let me assure you, Commander, that only a highly unlikely massive overload in some of said technology could cause the destruction of this ship." _Stark facepalmed at JARVIS' 'helpful' statement.****

Stark flinched at the look Shepard gave him, while she ignited her biotics just to further emphasize her obvious displeasure at the whole situation with the A.I. "JARVIS... please stop trying to be so helpful. You're going to get me killed buddy."****

**"**Stark... if you're responsible for getting one member of this crew so much as mildly injured, I'll be taking payment out on your ass, are we clear?" JARVIS knew what was coming but he couldn't say anything in time to stop him from running his mouth...as always. Some things never changed, and that point was being proven yet again.****

**"**So are we talking sexual favors or..." Stark didn't bother finishing his thought as a pistol lurched off a nearby table and flew into Shepard's outstretched hand. Maybe he should have taken those earlier warnings to heart a little sooner...****

He suddenly became much more productive after Shepard's little demonstration, explaining, more or less, the nature of his work without giving away anything he'd rather not let her know that could potentially bite him in the ass later. He had made that mistake with Obadiah; betrayal tends to be a very good teacher.****

**"**So let's get my stuff unpacked, I've got a few ideas in mind and-" Tony began but was interrupted by Shepard who still looked pretty pissed at him. He had earned her wrath perhaps but it wouldn't make things any easier in the long run.****

**"**No way in hell Stark. I'm only putting up with you as it is because the Captain ordered me to. Do you really think I'm that stupid, that I'd let a weapons designer, who I don't trust, let alone like, tinker in this ship's cargo bay?"****

**"**I build neat things. I bet you'd love 'em." Stark saw that his cheerful offer fell flat on it's face. Maybe it was time for a new tactic. Perhaps he needed to share a little more personal information about himself that would hopefully set her at ease, at least a little bit. If he was to be stuck with her for any length of time, it might have been a better plan to get her and her crew on his side first before pissing them off...****

**"**Listen, it's probably obvious to you that I don't exactly have a lot of friends. What I do have is a crazy psycho on my ass, a badly wounded friend, and my brilliant mind which I will somehow use to get my ass out of this mess I find myself in. I figure you're helping to keep me alive right now, so lucky for you I can upgrade just about everything onboard this ship, given enough time and materials." It wasn't a boast; it was a simple statement of fact since Tony had it in him to do it and do it quite well.****

**"**What the... My work area?! Skipper, what's all this crap doing down here?" Stark's eyebrows shot up as a fairly attractive woman stomped over towards Shepard and himself, obviously pissed off. Considering that he had been called the 'Da Vinci' of his time, calling the Iron Man armor crap was like calling the Mona Lisa just a picture, but he wisely held his tongue...for the moment.****

**"**Take it easy Williams, our 'guest' had some luggage and it seems he's willing to use this 'crap' to our advantage." She wasn't thrilled about it but Rebecca wasn't about to throw away a potential ally and his supposed 'brilliance', but she wasn't about to let him wander about the ship freely either if she could help it, Captain's orders or not. Part of her discomfort was because of his unshackled A.I., but the rest was just his attitude in general. "However Chief, if he so much as acts suspiciously even once, feel free to toss him out of an airlock if I don't do it myself first."****

**"**Skipper?" Ashley was obviously puzzled since the short time they had known each other, she hadn't seen her Commander so obviously on edge. Facing down geth had been easy for her even though they hadn't been seen past the Veil for over two centuries, yet something about this man was making her twitchy? "What'd I miss?"****

**"**You'll figure it out soon enough darlin'." Tony replied, holding out his hand to Ash as he introduced himself. "Tony Stark..." He didn't get any further as realization dawned on the Chief's face right before she delivered a right hook across his jaw, dropping the man to the deck a moment later as spots danced across his vision. "Not normally the greeting I get..."****

**"**I take it you know of him Ashley?" Rebecca asked, barely able to suppress the grin that was threatening to take over her face at the sight of Stark on his butt at her feet. She had been wanting to do that all day.****

**"**This... this son of bitch got my great-great-grandmother killed while she was trying to protect his sorry ass! But I doubt you ever gave a shit, she was just one more dead grunt right?" Ashley all but spat down on Tony who had slowly gotten to his feet again, all humor gone from his face and his voice as he remembered all too keenly what she was referring to.****

**"**Your great-great-grandmother... she was in the U.S. Air Force, wasn't she?" Stark's initial shock at being belted in the face quickly turned into a very deep guilt as he realized exactly who this woman was angry about. "I'm sorry she died in that convoy, if it makes any difference to you. I would have rather been the one to suffer instead of all those soldiers I saw being slaughtered right in front of my eyes by the same weapons I had created to protect them. And yes, I gave a shit about them, I never stopped. As a matter of fact, I carry a reminder of that day with me wherever I go since it's the only thing keeping me alive." He tapped at his chest plate once again to emphasize the point. He probably shouldn't have mentioned that, but Tony was too overcome by his part in that same slaughter to care what might come of it later.****

The anger in Ashley's eyes died away, replaced with sadness and curiosity. "Tell me, did she at least go down fighting?" Small comfort regardless of the answer, Ashley still wanted to know since her great grandmother had still been a Williams, and the Williams didn't know how to die silently or with a whimper. Every one of them had a similar story if they didn't make it back home to their family, and she wanted to know, needed to know the truth.****

Stark may have been a heartless bastard at times but not always, as he saw that the soldier in front of him needed to hear that her ancestor died well, so he lied. "Not only did she do her best to try and save my worthless ass, but I saw her take down five enemy soldiers before they finally got her. I'll never forget what she and the other men protecting me did that day." Some of the best lies had grains of truth to them, and while the fact she hadn't managed to take down any of those bastards, they had died protecting him, and Tony would truly never forget them for that since if not for them, he most likely wouldn't have become who he was now. At least one good thing had come out of that whole bloody fiasco.****

Ashley still looked angry with him, but not as badly as a few minutes before. "Thank you... I never really knew exactly what had happened to her, but I'm glad she was at least able to do her duty, even if it was protecting an ass like you."****

Tony could only nod as he looked away, remembering that the woman related to Ashley Williams in his part of the convoy hadn't even managed to get out to join the fight before being blown away by one of the terrorists. She didn't need to know the truth though. Sometimes a harmless lie was better than the cold hard truth.****

Stark was mildly bothered by the fact Shepard gave him the oddest look, but he wasn't about to risk irritating her, yet again, by asking her why the hell she was staring at him. Thankfully her creepy focus on him was interrupted after a few moments.****

**"**Ma'am, we've finished transferring everything from the docked shuttle. Is there anything- Chief, are you alright?" Shepard noticed as Kaiden's normally calm expression turned to a worried look as he saw the sadness in Ashley's eyes.****

**"**I'm fine LT, just talking about some family business with our new passenger here." Kaiden smirked as Ashley gave Stark a punch to the shoulder, earning a grin from the man this time instead of a shocked expression. At least she didn't want to beat him to within an inch of his life now. That, in Tony's not so humble opinion, was a step in the right direction. Now he just had to get Rebecca Shepard on his side. How hard could that be?****

**"**Good work Alenko." A mischievous grin appeared on Shepard's face. "Lt. Why don't you take Mr. Stark here up to see the cockpit, I'm sure we have to be nearing the Citadel by now." She gave Stark a slight wink. "Enjoy the show Stark, you're not going to want to miss this."****

Somehow Tony wasn't comforted in the least by Rebecca's eagerness to get him to the cockpit. Or the fact that he would have to deal with the bearded jackass who had insulted him on the way into the ship. Not to mention the fact that the airlock was right by the cockpit. It wouldn't take much effort on Shepard's part to carry out her threat with him so close to the 'exit' "That's okay Shep, I think I'll pass. Once you've seen one cockpit, you've seen 'em all."****

**"**Have it your way Stark." Shepard shrugged and left him in the capable hands of Ashley and Kaiden.**  
****  
**Seeing the looks that Ashley was still throwing his way, Stark wondered if being near the airlock might be the safer of the two options. Damned if he did, damned if he didn't. Great, why couldn't things ever be simple in his life?****

**"**Let's get to work shall we? Or are the two of you going to just stare at me all day?" Stark glared at the two crew members that seemed to have had made it their mission to watch him like hawks. _Just need a bottle of Jack, the soundtrack to AC/DC, and I'd be set._****

**"**No. You can get to work Stark; we'll supervise." Why was he not surprised by that answer? Considering it had been given by Ash, it wasn't surprising since she still understandably held a grudge against him despite his effort to mend some of his past history with her family and all.****

**"**Here, I can help you get settled in Mr. Stark, although I have no idea how long the Captain will be allowing you and your friend to stay onboard." Kaiden gave Ashley an annoyed look as he turned back to Stark and motioned towards his gear. "Are you really the same Tony Stark, the Invincible Iron Man?" Kaiden had to ask, and although the armor gave that away, it never hurt to confirm facts.****

**"**Oh no..." A frown appeared on Tony's face. "You're one ofthose over obsessive fanboyswho actually liked me... aren't you?" He had a soldier girl that hated his guts because he had gotten one of her great great grandmother's blown up, a Commander that would have loved to tear him apart with her mind, and now he had a fanboy to worry about. _Jesus... could this possibly get any weirder..._****

**"**I wouldn't say _overly _obsessive..." Kaiden began, trailing off as he wiped his forehead, as if he was feeling the effects of high temperatures that no one else could notice. "But yes, I am a fan...you wouldn't mind answering a question would you?" ****

_Oh Christ... it begins... _Stark thought, but put on a cheerful smirk and decided to give the guy a break. This Alenko had been one of only a few who Tony had been able to get along with so far. "Shoot."****

Kaiden looked shocked that he'd actually said yes. He had expected Tony to say no, especially since he didn't seem in the mood for a million questions after having received such a cold reception from Shepard and the Chief. "Uh... okay. I've always wondered, has that umm..." He pointed towards Stark's chest. "worked well as a nightlight.?" ****

Tony couldn't help it and laughed at the question, having honestly not expected that at all. Most people wanted to know where he got his ideas, how many Iron Man armors he had, stuff like that, but Kaiden's question had been a good one since it was a much needed change of pace. "It oddly enough has on occasion, keeps me from bumping into things in the dark, which is of use to me when I need a midnight ... snack." _Or used to need one all the time anyway. _Palladium poisoning, it had sucked on so many levels. His nightfly flings had gone out the window, as well as his health until he had found an alternative solution to his arc reactor's power source. He certainly didn't trust anyone around him now enough to share that particular bit of information about himself. ****

**"**Thanks! I mean um... thank you very much for indulging my curiosity Mr. Stark." Stark just chuckled again and nodded as Kaiden kept to himself for the most part after that. Maybe working with these folks wouldn't be so bad after all?****

**"**No worries Kaiden, and just call me Tony." _Kind of reminds me of Rhodey, if Rhodey hadn't had that stick up his butt. _Tony sighed mentally to himself as he turned towards the workbench, unsure if he should waste the time to get set up or not since he wasn't sure how long he'd be around. If things worked out the way he wanted them to go, he would get Tali embedded as part of the Normandy's crew, but that was hard telling at the moment. As for himself, he probably wouldn't mind sticking around, but there was no way in hell that this Commander 'Righteous Bitch' Shepard would want him on this ship for any length of time.****

When he started to feel the ship slow down as the inertial dampeners kicked in, giving him a slight sense of vertigo, Tony perked up as he heard Joker say over the intercom, "Now arriving at the Citadel, the biggest artificial piece of crap in the known universe... also home to any form of porn you can possibly imagine." Seeing Ashley blush slightly while facepalming really added to Stark's day. Yep, he was going to enjoy his stay here, for however long it turned out to be. _And whether or not Shepard doesn't push me out the airlock._****

**"**Stark? _Normandy _to Stark?!" Tony almost jumped when he realized a now armored Shepard, he instantly disliked her suit's color scheme, had walked up to him while he was pondering, and was now standing right next to him. She was a friggin ninja compared to some people he had once known. SHIELD could have hired her and she'd have scared the crap out of some of those stiff necks most likely.****

**"**Jesus! What is it with you military types and sneaking up on people?!" Tony complained as an evil smirk appeared on Shepard's lips. "Why do I get the feeling I'm about to regret this?" Tony asked, suddenly very afraid for his life and he was seriously considering jumping into his Iron Man armor. He never got the chance.****

**"**Alenko, Williams get geared up A.S.A.P. We're taking Mr. Stark here on a little field trip, apparently his injured friend just told Dr. Chakwas that he has some and I quote ' Terribly urgent information that the Council needs to hear.' By the way, thanks for sharing Stark." Shepard roughly slapped a hand on his shoulder and started to guide Tony towards the elevator, which Stark was already planning on ripping apart and redesigning from square one after riding it once. He swore Shepard had to have been screwing with him when he first got to see this deck, no sane person would have made an elevator that was as slow as a snail's ass on purpose.****

**"**Who in their right fucking mind made this elevator anyway? If I was you I'd be sure you kept the receipt for this piece of junk and get your money back." He had to say something since Rebecca's royally pissed stare was still giving him goosebumps.****

**"**After we get this 'urgent information' you didn't bother to even mention to me or the Captain to the Council, maybe that could be your first project then Mr. Stark. The crew certainly wouldn't mind, the ones you don't get blown up anyway, or sucked out an airlock by your rogue A.I." She couldn't have said that any harsher if she had tried, but Stark noticed the dangerous look in her eyes and realized she was being entirely serious. "I look after my crew Tony; as long as you do the same and don't do anything to threaten their safety, I might be able to put up with your bullshit."****

**"**_I would advise massive amounts of patience when dealing with Tony, Lt. Commander Shepard. As for any threat you believe I may pose, I will not interfere with this ship in any way, save any actions needed to protect Mr. Stark, or the Normandy's crew from harm. As you've seen for yourself, I am quite capable in cyberwarfare; perhaps you could requisition a software upgrade?" _****

Shepard had jumped when her omni-tool activated, and suddenly became talkative in the elevator. "Umm... I'll give it some thought...JARVIS right?" She had to bite her tongue when she saw Tony grinning, making her want to say something truly harsh. She was getting used to the strange couple, but it was going to take more time than had passed so far for Rebecca to ever truly get used to Tony Stark and JARVIS.****

**"**_Yes ma'am. And you said not to take over the Normandy's systems, so I must apologize for exploiting your unintentional logic loophole in my hacking of your omni-tool to communicate." _Rebecca did have to smile at that since she had indeed said she didn't want JARVIS in the _Normandy's _systems, so she let his small interruption slide. Tony noticed that Shepard also didn't tell JARVIS to never contact her omni-tool again.****

As they exited the lift, Stark more or less swaggered out of the elevator. Tony couldn't help gulping slightly as they neared the ship's airlock. _I'm sure were already docked by now... I hope, _He thought as the idea that Shepard might just be playing nice so she could space his ass occurred to him. He really wouldn't put it past her, but Stark internally sighed with relief when Alenko and Williams ran up behind them less than a minute later and proceeded to follow Stark and Shepard into the airlock. ****

A short while later they exited yet another excruciatingly slow elevator, onto what looked like a large observation deck. "You're gonna love this Iron Ma- umm Mr. Stark, the Citadel is amazing!" Somehow Tony didn't find Kaiden's cheerful words all that reassuring as he was blown away by the view in front of him. Even he could be surprised beyond words, and while it was on very, very rare occasions, it had still been known to happen. To sum it up, the Citadel was fucking huge! _How the hell does something this fucking gigantic even hold together?!_****

Five gigantic arms covered in skyscrapers, hover cars flying everywhere his eyes could see, and an honest to God internal atmosphere, with terrain, in the shape of a giant ring. It kind of reminded Tony of the ideas from Ringworld or the Halo video games. "Ok, I'm impressed." Tony had to admit it was very impressive since it showed how far this new age had come. Even he could only have dreamed of this level of technology in his own age, and now he was a part of this unimaginable future. _But at what cost? _If what JARVIS had pulled from those mercs' omni-tools was anything to go by as well as what Tali had managed to pull from the geth, then the cost was going to be great indeed.**  
****  
**Something needed to be done, and he was just the man for the job. He would have to single handedly, as always, save these people from the massive trap they seemed to have allowed themselves to fall into countless times if JARVIS was right. And he knew JARVIS was always right, because Tony had made him after all.****

**"**Iron Man? Did someone say Iron Man?" Tony was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a woman ask if someone had mentioned Iron Man. When he turned, 'Iron Man' had to glare at Kaiden for opening his big mouth when he had since he had hoped to keep, for once, a low profile by his own choice. The woman in question wasn't even human, but a blue skinned...alien...girl thing. A very hot looking alien-girl-thing, in Tony's not so modest opinion. Suddenly Stark wasn't upset with Kaiden any more.****

**"**Well hello there beautiful...nice shade of blue you got going on." Tony put his hand on Kaiden's shoulder. "My friend here is absolutely right, I am Iron Man." Shepard didn't know who she wanted to kill first, Kaiden for opening his mouth, or Tony for trying to get lucky in full view of the public, but she wasn't about to let this happen either way as she got between him and the asari woman before 'lifting' the supposedly Invincible Iron Man with her biotics and dragging him behind her.****

**"**We don't have the fucking time for you to get laid by every asari you see Tony. And Kaiden, don't say another word if it means feeding his ego. That's an order Lt." Rebecca growled in the back of her throat as she continued to carry the man with her biotics, a blue glow shimmering around them both as Tony remained a foot off the ground.****

As Kaiden quickly apologized, Stark opted to piss her off further by waving to the highly curious crowds that had gathered to see what exactly was happening. "Coming through, treasured hero coming through here!"****

**"**Can I shoot him now Skipper?" Ashley asked, really hoping that the Commander would give the order since they were drawing quite a big crowd now with Tony's antics. She hadn't been the only one that had wanted to keep a low profile since Ashley actually appreciated the need for haste and Tony was not helping in that area in the least.****

**"**Ask me later and I might just help you remove his fingernails one at a time Chief." Shepard growled as she looked over her shoulder at the infuriatingly smug bastard floating behind her.****

Suddenly a woman near the back of the crowd caught Stark's attention, and Tony went uncharastically quiet as he could have sworn he saw_her _face. If nothing else, it was a very close match, especially with her long slightly greying auburn hair done up in a bun. She always wore that bun when she was working, always so predictable but functional, and so her. No one else saw the her since he was the only one floating a foot off the ground, so he had a pretty good line of sight at that moment. "Put me down Shepard. As crazy as this is going to sound, I think... I think I just saw... put me down dammit! Now!." The chances were zero to none, but he had to know. Apparently something in Tony's voice caught Rebecca's attention since she lowered him to the ground and watched as he took off.****

Catching up wasn't hard since the woman in question had stopped at a small floral vendor off the main thoroughfare, but he didn't even have to get her attention to see that it wasn't her when Tony got a good look at her face. He sighed as he briefly took a look at her face again just to be sure from across the way, but didn't bother the similar looking woman before moving away, stopping at the edge of the walkway as he waited for Kaiden, Ashley, and Rebecca to catch up. Seeing the forlorn look on Tony's face was all Shepard needed to make sense of what had just happened. "Not her?"****

**"**I...I should have known but I had to be sure." It occurred to Stark that Nick Fury probably had his brain in a jar for all he knew, and since he hadn't seen Nick in the flesh, it was entirely possible the image he had seen was digitally created. For the first time, Stark suddenly realized the painful truth that Harper had most likely been toying with him when he had shown him that video of Pepper. It was most likely a false image of Pepper designed to allow TIM to get his psychotic hands back on Tony quickly, and it had almost worked. ****

The chances of Pepper actually finding a way of surviving for this long were highly unlikely, and even if she had, she would be a hell of alot older than the fleeting image Tony thought he had seen of her in that vid and now here. _Just wishful thinking on my part. Still... Creepy Eyes might not have been bluffing, one way or another I have to know the truth. Too bad I apparently can't trust Commander Bitchy to help me with this, I'll just have to take the fight to Harper by myself. That shouldn't be too hard, provided JARVIS doesn't get in my way again._****

Leaning on the railing of the walkway, Tony sighed heavily as he looked over his right shoulder at Rebecca. "In case you're wondering, I've been on ice for over a 170 years, and I have no idea what happened to most of my old friends. I guess I was hoping one of them, someone who was special to me, had made it to this century, but I should have known it was just a stupid hope on my part."****

She didn't know what to say to that, and some of her earlier anger disappeared since it was clear the decision to be put on ice hadn't been an easy one. Someone like Tony Stark wouldn't have done it without a very good reason. "Who were you hoping it was?" She instead asked, wondering if he'd tell her then or not, but her money was on him brushing the subject to the side.****

**"**Her name was Pepper." He didn't brush the subject aside, but Tony chose not to talk about anything else about his past as he walked away towards where they were needed then and there. Kaiden moved to put a hand on Tony's shoulder and Stark quickly jerked away from the man, glaring at him once again for an entirely different reason. "Come on, I wasted enough of your time Shep, let's just get this over with and talk to these Council idiots."****

**"**Bout time." Ashley muttered to herself, but her own earlier vehemence had disappeared as well since she couldn't imagine what it was like to be a stranger in a strange land, a saying that had literal meaning in Tony's case. She doubted any of her father's old poetry classics covered this situation.****

**"**As I told my crew shortly after we shipped out together, I have an open door policy Stark. If you ever feel like talking, I'm there, even if you are an ass." Tony didn't have a snappy comeback ready but he still nodded since Rebecca's heart was in the right place, but he wasn't the couch type, never had been.****

**"**Not likely going to happen, but thanks anyway Commander Freud." Stark was oddly silent after that, as he quickly followed Shepard and Kaiden, with Ashley walking, surprisingly, at his side. Who'd have thought it after he had found out she had a relative in that convoy? Just an hour ago she had wanted to paint the deck with his brains. _Strange how things like that work out._****

Whatever came later, maybe things wouldn't be so bad? Besides, he had Tali to worry about now. If he was going to care about anything, it might as well be her. She'd never replace Pepper, but he had to live for something since otherwise he'd end up like he had been before he had gotten himself captured and nearly killed those many decades ago. _Keeping that kid safe is enough to live for._****

_Closing notes; Vergil; I don't know what the others might say but I am personally hoping this 8k chapter will become the average from here on out. We'll talk about it amongst ourselves first and see, but beyond that, I want to thank the awesome team of writers for letting me work on this with them. This is Vergil1989 the Crossover King, signing off. Archer, anything to add there bud?_****

_Archer; Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! As you can see, our chapters are going to be getting a tad longer in the future, we hope you don't mind. :) Please continue to send us your reviews, we're always happy to receive new ones!_****

_Vergil; And if it's not too much trouble, feel free to send us a few asari strippers as well. :D_****

_Archer; Actually that's not a bad idea... by all means to do that too!_****

_Envirosuit: You two are terrible._****

_Vergil; We're doing an Iron Man/ME fanfic, what did you expect? :P_****

_Envirosuit: Not asari strippers..._****

_Vergil; No imagination, I swear. :P_****

_Envirosuit: I reserve my imagination for more important matters Zaeed/Vergil._****

_Vergil; Whatever you say there Miranda/Enviro. :D_****

_Envirosuit: Let's just end this conversation before it becomes more awkward._


End file.
